OP-Ed: “Finding spiritual world’s middle ground,” by Henry G. Brinton, USA Today, 8 May 2006, p. 13A.

Great bit on religion in U.S. that actually explains how we wrongly conflate fundamentalism with evangelicalism.

The key line is that it’s not about conservatives and liberals, but “obligation-keepers” (more fundamental, but not always fundamentalist in the sense of seeking separation from a corrupt world) and “liberation-seekers” (often evangelical and highly connective).

This distinction reminds me of a great explanation of sexuality that says there are really only two types of people in the world: those who seek to penetrate others and those who allow penetration and that that’s a better and more accurate way to describe sexuality than gay or straight (almost like extrovert versus introvert).

But Brinton throws you for a loop next, by declaring Bush an obvious obligation-keeper (prior to 9/11, a natural description) and Clinton the obvious liberation-seeker (very true in his take on religion and politics, which were both all about redemption to him).

But then you step back a bit and think about the foreign policies of each, and it seems to break down--unless you consider the times.

Think about the 1990s and Clinton’s liberation theme shines through primarily in economics (promoting globalization) and only in security under duress (when things get too bad to ignore--and yet, compare his Balkans to Bush’s Iraq and Clinton looks pretty damn smart in comparison, yes?).

But then think about the post-9/11 Bush administration and you get Brinton’s explanation that obligation-keepers and liberation-seekers tend to swap sides during war, with the obligation types getting more liberational (our duty to the oppressed) and the liberation-seekers getting all pacific (can’t redeem via war, apparently).

And I guess the Tony Blair middle ground would be to act liberational in both venues (Clintonesque at home, Bushy abroad), and I guess that would make both him and me a “obligation-seeker” or “liberation-keeper.” Bit clumsy expressed that way, but closer to my Christ than either of the other two, once you accept the original definitions and naturally seek the hybrid.