proud member of the christian left

There has been a emergence of a new term in the US and its existence as a term and as a group of people is in debate and controversy.  The Christian left is seen as a reaction to the Christian or "Religious" Right and I must say that I am a part of this demographic.  I am anti-war, anti-death penalty, against overturning Roe v. Wade, in support of equality for homosexuals, for affirmative action, against instituted prayer in public schools, against private school vouchers, anti-torture, in support of 'spreading the wealth' through progressive taxation, and against the general fundatmentalist view of the world.  Christians have been pegged for having the opposite views on ALL of the following and I am ok with that. Christian DOES NOT equal patriotic, Republican, capitalist, and especially judgmental. I am tired of being expected to fall in line with ideologies that are deemed as "Christian" that I do not agree with on Christian grounds. Its bullshit, and I refuse to fit into the character of "Christian conservative'. 

Are we human?

One aspect of the "American way" that is supposed to be in sync with Christianity is patriotism. 21st century american patriotism is based upon one outstanding principle that the Bible clearly states God hates most, pride. We were all taught to "be proud to be an american" and to "have pride in our country". I think we as Christians need to deconstruct what we are saying and what we are teaching young citizens. We are indoctrinated to believe that America is (for lack of a better term" the shit and all other nations are inferior, even those on par with us in the world, they still are not at our level.

I think there is value in supporting our nation and hoping the best decisions are made in our name, it is where we live, however, countries are not static entities that are constant, they rise and fall and in 100 years the USA may not even exist, who knows.

I choose not to combine my faith with bullshit "patriotism" that calls me to have pride. God hates pride, especially when it causes people to be ethnocentric and value human life based upon place of birth, residence, and world view. This is why I choose not to say the pledge of allegiance, why should I be told to pledge my allegiance to a piece of cloth that's meaning changes with every generation and election?

Pride is wrong, therefore I have a problem with calling myself 'patriotic' when that concept is intertwined within the word. 

Lastly, I pose the question (which was taken from song by the killers): Are we human?  As I listened to this song, my answer is yes, but it is a deeper yes than a pure look at my anatomical state.  To be human is to be human. Not American, or any other national identity based on borders, we are all simply human. This is a truth which I feel must be understood.

here it is

I've decided to start blogging for a couple reasons...basically I want a place in which to put thoughts to type, allow others to think about those thoughts at the same time that I do, and provide a place to make my thoughts and opinions legitimized in a safe place. Thats it.