General Convention - Pervaded by Politics?

From David Grizzle:

... In fact, the Convention is one of the best run events I have ever attended. But politics overwhelmingly constitute the warp and weft of our interactions.  At one point during a committee discussion, my table-mate turned to me and said, “I bet you’re a Republican.” Searching for someway to redeem myself in her eyes, I almost blurted out the half-lie, “Yes, but I am an atheist.”

We spend a plurality of our time in committees. I began my committee work yesterday. I am assigned to the Committee on National and International Affairs. ...   

Although all of the issues we consider are ones that I suspect the Brooking Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations are better equipped to handle than we are, I along with my other 25 committee members are being very earnest in our assessment of the positions that we are being asked to take as a denomination.  We are covering a broad range of topics: condemning Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians, condemning multi-national corporations for causing global warming; condemning Ugandan Christians for not being more sensitive to genocide against other Ugandan Christians; condemning the United States for heeding the demands of Cuban Americans to continue the economic embargo of Cuba; condemning everyone for not having achieved the Millennium Development Goals. 

I actually think I’m spawning relationship with some of the people on the committee, which I will value long after the Convention is over; and when I am able to have an extended conversation, a generous amount of fruit is borne. 

What bugs me most is just the intense blame-America-first attitude that pervades everything we do.

(Extra paragraphing added.)  I understand where he's coming from.  Unfortunately, many political liberals can be invincibly certain of their own wisdom and rectitude, and of the ignorance and ill-motives of those who disagree with them — just as many theological traditionalists are.

Comments

[bls]

The worst part is that many of the positions - such as those enumerated above - are just so simplistic and poorly-argued. There's nothing very original or thoughtful there at all; we're terrible in both theology and political philosophy, IMO.

But of course, I simply hate party politics, especially in the Church.

[John wilkins]

I'm sympathetic to the idea that ECUSA should be very careful when treading into politics. It is fine to hear the stories of Arab Christians and Cuban Episcopalians. On the other hand, there should be some willingness to speak the truth.

But I'm wary about any propositions without a coherent church response. Every resolution should have a program attached to it, otherwise we just reveal our irrelevance.