C
ChineseCatholic
Guest
I kind of have a bit of an academic quibble with this statement.
“Mainstream Cultural Presentations,” by virtue of being mainstream, tend to be inordinately influenced by fads/cultural trends.
I’ll use the example of what’s going on with Islam right now.
I can point out pockets of Islamic communities in Asia and the Middle East who at some particular point in time, held the majority interpretation of their religious doctrine/dogmas which was circumscribed by a centuries old legal tradition.
In many of those places, especially in Pakistan, parts of Indonesia, and Central Asia, people who were the upholders of a religious tradition with a strong historical provenance find themselves now in smaller quantities as Renovated version of that Tradition slowly becomes/is the Norm. The Renovated Version(s) can severely mangle the aforementioned legal tradition or shoves it off a cliff altogether.
Furthermore, that Renovated version has essentially become the “Mainstream Cultural Presentation” in the West, because it has a much stronger Political component in its interpretation and has more of a reason to challenge/oppose/interact with social/political cultures outside of its boundaries.
You bring up the whole RINO/DINO thing - and actually i think thats a good example of what i’m pointing to in terms of “Sometimes the Norms Shift on You” phenomenon.
I’ve have friends who have both worked in the RNC and DNC - what some folks would refer to as “Beltway Bandits” because their lives revolve around the political/business/consultancy scene in DC. Most of gone off to think tanks, private businesses, lobbying firms, etc.
All of them agree that the current political landscape is unrecognizable.
Calling people RINO/DINO makes sense when the Party in question has a set of concrete platforms.
But what if its in flux?
My Wall-Street/K-Street/Silicon Valley cohort for instance, absolutely positively hate Donald Trump in terms of the sentiments he expresses and his demeanor. He’s nothing but a childish caveman to them.
But when I ask them the pertinent question of “So you’d vote Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren in 2020?”
…they freeze.
Some of them have told me point blank, “That won’t be the option in 2020.” and proceeded to throw a dump truck full of money to any PAC or organization that is running a… i guess you can call them “Clinton-style” Democrat versus anyone coming from the “Bernie Wing” of that Party.
MEANWHILE - my other sets of associates and colleagues from Mid-West/Rust Belt states who, while voting Democrat most of their lvies, have an oddly positive evaluation of Donald Trump (versus the rest of the Republican Party which they despise, except perhaps for Rand Paul), are more than willing to vote for a Bernie Sanders anointed candidate or the man himself.
Both Groups within the Party call the other DINOs…
I could tell you a similar story regarding my Republican friends.
As an outsider to both the political system and culture of the United States, how could i possiblely make the evaluation of who a DINO or RINO is?
All i see are Elites vs. Populists fighting for control of their respective Party Labels.
Relating that back to what you said, this is why i question the ability for an outsider to point out “Norms of the Faith,” especially in a time period when the Norms are being renegotiated amongst certain groups.
