You perhaps think your identity as a Christian is essential to your identity and actions as a citizen, because—though Christ’s kingdom is not of this world—you are a Christian citizen in a country that is made a nation by the rule of “we the people.” Thus, being your authentic self just like a good liberal, you believe you are your best as an American when you don’t hide your faith in public, especially in participating in political life. You are a good citizen because you try to be a good Christian, and it wouldn’t occur to you to pretend that’s not the case. You probably think America has been “a Christian nation,” or at least had a Christian society, and that God has blessed this country.

  • TJD@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I find that this type of connotation/denotation blending is really common among leftists, at least in internet circles. An extremely benign academic definition is used to paint labels, but then it’s rhetorically matched with informal understanding as a pejorative term.

    • Bongo_Stryker@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Do you mean like when people say things like “international bankers” and they really mean Jews, or when Reagan talked about “Welfare queens” and a “strapping young buck using food stamps” and he very clearly meant black people?

      Or like when people say “border crisis” or “illegal immigrants” they are actually saying “OMG you should be afraid of all the violent ethnics coming to rape your white women!”

      I agree that’s a real shame that people do that.