Embracing the Tension of Being in the Middle By Terry Pruitt

When I claim to be a moderate, may I never do so as an act of cowardice where I refuse to take a risk. 

I desire to be open minded like a true liberal. 

When I claim to be a moderate, may I never do so as an act of cowardice where I refuse to take a stand on the truth. 

I desire to be respectful of the wisdom of the past like a true conservative.

When I claim to be a moderate,  I never want avoid the hard, painful intellectual rigor of grappling with the truth.

I desire to read, listen, and study broadly like a true liberal. 

When I claim to be a moderate, I never want to consider myself better than others by the false thought that I have somehow risen above the debate to a higher plane.

I desire to bring the self awareness that I indeed have a world-view that I implicitly believe when weighing all others like a true conservative. 

When I claim to be a moderate, may I never do so as an act of distancing myself from my sisters and brothers in the faith, nor distancing myself from friends of other faiths, nor distancing myself from the friction and hurt that commonly accompanies human interaction in general. 

I desire to be compassionate towards all mankind like a true liberal.

When I claim to be a moderate, let me suffer gladly the rejection of both the right and the left. 

I desire to be steadfast when mocked to stand for the truth like a true conservative.

I desire to critically read both conservative thinkers and liberal thinkers in order to understand the next step in their train of thought and to act on the best wisdom possible. 

I desire that my character embrace the best of the left and the right. 

Comments

bigred5 said…
Good review. Thanks for reading it.
3:52 PM
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