Though liberals orient primarily toward the poor, and conservatives orient primarily toward themselves, neither is morally right. We have to look at what fears are behind both their positions. Liberals are saying, if the government does not give, the poor will not have enough. Conservatives are saying, if the government does give, I will not have enough. Both believe that there is only so much to go around. This reveals that neither side believes that God is infinitely abundant. Because of this common limit to their faith in God, neither position can claim moral superiority.
If they believe in God's promise to provide, there would be no reason to be afraid. We can accept that conservatives will orient primarily to themselves and liberals will always consider others. This is balance, and this is as it should be. However, if both positions did believe in God's infinite prosperity, then their reactions to the poor would look very different. Conservatives would say, you may take my resources to give to the poor, because I know God provides for me and I will in no way be less well off by sharing my wealth with others. Liberals would say, I have more than enough energy and resources in my life to follow my heart and assist the poor. I do not need to hope the government or anyone else will take care of them for me. God has revealed their burden to my heart, therefore I am part of God's provision for them. I can give of myself because I know God will take care of what I need for myself in the course of opening myself to be an instrument of God's grace.
See, both liberals and conservatives reveal by their political orientations a common underlying belief - that God is not providing for them. To believe that God is watching over and providing for you opens up a third way, Jesus' way. This is neither liberal nor conservative. Whether your heart is given the gift of going out and personally helping others in need, or the gift of focusing and channeling prosperity, your attitude and reactions will look much different if you have faith enough to follow the third way.
This reveals one last important shared point - that neither side of the debate should concern themselves with the poor as a starting point. If liberals and conservatives have an incomplete faith in God, which does not allow them to see all the ways that God has, is and will continue to provide for them, then their first priority should be healing their own situation, to come into full awareness of grace. Jesus did not start by tending to the poor. Jesus started by realizing he was the son of God.
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(* Antinomies are categories of mutual exclusivity, two positions that cannot be reconciled. Kant believed that the human mind was created in a way that causes us to see all things in terms of binary oppositions. Taoists believe that when two things seem irreconcilable, we must rise above and see the situation with a new mind, often which realizes the harmony and balance in the overall situation, as symbolized by the yin-yang symbol. This piece is part of a series that will explore underlying assumptions behind traditionally entrenched debates, toward seeing how ideological divisions can be dissolved toward mutual harmony and understanding.)
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