Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Some of our favorite articles are in this category, and they’re here because they didn’t fit into one of our main blog categories.

I have an opinion about whether the killing of Michael Brown was an act of self-defense or police brutality, but I consider it to be an ill-informed opinion. Most of my understanding of the controversy has come from reading sources that generally agree with me politically, so I should keep my opinion to myself until I change that.

However, I do have two very strong opinions that I am comfortable sharing:

1. Anyone that strives to be intellectually honest ought to actively fight against confirmation bias (the tendency to search for, interpret, or prioritize information in a way that confirms one’s beliefs). If you haven’t carefully read and considered the reasoning of those who disagree with you, then you have no business making strong, confident statements on the subject.

2. Anyone that strives to be morally good ought not demonize people who have a differing view. The people who disagree with you may well be wrong, biased, foolish, or blind to the facts, but they probably don’t disagree with you because they’re evil. People are complicated, and our reasons for believing things are complicated.

Timothy Brahm
Posted on

3 Reasons You Should Stay Involved in the Political Process

by

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes.

sacramento_phixr-314It’s Election Day on Tuesday. (Not a Calvinist holiday. People are voting in booths…)

A lot of pro-life advocates are fed up with politics, especially in a state like California where it seems like the pro-life vote doesn’t matter. I have a lot of empathy with people who feel apathetic about the entire political process, but I want to offer a few reasons to stay involved.

I spoke at a pro-life conference in Southern California recently put on by California Pro-Life Council, and Bryan Johnston asked me to spend the last part of my speech encouraging the attendees to stay involved with politics. It’s not a topic I discuss very often, as my work is primarily focused on training pro-life advocates to use better arguments and to form the kinds of friendships with pro-choice people where real heart change is more likely to happen. (Focusing on those two things is why I launched a non-profit organization this year.) After a week of thinking about the issue, I delivered my speech and with my closing few minutes, said this:

With my remaining moments, I would like to encourage you in another way that you can help the pro-life movement: Getting more involved in politics.

*pause*

There are some people in this room right now who are not very excited to hear the rest of this speech, because you trusted a candidate once, and he or she disappointed you.

You not only feel betrayed by that individual, you feel betrayed by the entire process, because it seems sometimes like if you live in California, there is no good that can be done.

So I want to suggest three reasons for why you should stay involved.