Political Pistachio

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Our current culture, or at least the TDS segment, reminds me of a few Bible Verses.

Isaiah 5:20 – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

2 Timothy 3:1-9 – “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!  For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith. But they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.”

Deception is the tool of the opposition.  They likely view what I am writing here as a threat.  This article represents an acknowledgement of how far in the wrong direction our world – and America – has gone.  A meme I saw recently I think spelled out how I feel quite clearly.

Secular Person: I want to do X.

Christian: You’re free to do it.

Secular Person: But you think X is wrong.

Christian: Yes.

Secular Person: Because you want to control me.

Christian: No. You’re free to do whatever you wish.

Secular Person: But you think X is wrong.

Christian: Yes, but only because I want what’s best for you.

Secular Person: But I want to do X.

Christian: You are free to do it.

Secular Person: But I want you to say that X is good and celebrate it.

Christian: I can’t say that or do that.

Secular Person: Why are you such a hateful, intolerant bigot?

We live in a polarized political and cultural landscape, and as we journey through this modern obstacle course of moral plurality, a striking pattern has emerged.  Those who claim they are seeking freedom from what a Christian would call a moral life are tossing around accusations of Christian intolerance and even false accusations that Christians seek a theocracy (Christian Nationalism).  However, the accusations often outpace actual evidence of such behavior or political ambitions.

The progressive left and purveyors of what has become known as WOKE politics follows a fascinating dynamic.  Mere disagreement has been recast as oppression, and the refusal to celebrate certain behaviors becomes evidence of “hate.”  This phenomenon represents not a genuine concern for justice as the social justice warriors claim, but rather a strategic narrative designed to marginalize traditional religious voices.

The core of this false narrative rests on a fundamental mischaracterization of Christian belief. Traditional Christian teaching on sexuality doesn’t stem from a desire to control others’ behaviors, but from deeply held theological convictions about human flourishing and moral order. When Christians express that certain behaviors are contrary to their faith, they’re exercising religious freedom – not imposing their will on others.

The meme illustrates this perfectly: the Christian consistently affirms the secular person’s freedom to act according to their conscience while maintaining their own moral position. Yet this principled stance is twisted into accusations of bigotry. The demand isn’t for tolerance but for validation – a requirement that Christians abandon their convictions to affirm behaviors they believe contrary to their faith.

Despite the false narrative of widespread Christian oppression of LGBTQ people, actual documented cases remain relatively rare in Western societies. What we do see are:

• Christians refusing to participate in ceremonies that violate their religious convictions
• Religious organizations maintaining traditional teachings within their own institutions
• Individuals expressing personal disagreement with certain behaviors

These actions represent the free exercise of religion, not persecution of others. The conflation of disagreement with oppression represents a dangerous erosion of genuine tolerance.

The real persecution is that Christians are under attack globally.  While secular Western discourse focuses on creating manufactured grievances about Christian “intolerance,” actual persecution of Christians continues worldwide at alarming rates. According to recent reports:

• Around 365 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination globally
• In India alone, attacks against Christians quadrupled from 147 cases in 2014 to 640 in 2024
• Christians were harassed by governments or private actors in over 160 countries

The contrast is stark: while Western progressives manufacture narratives about Christian oppression, actual Christians face violence, imprisonment, and death simply for their faith in many parts of the world.

This selective outrage reveals a profound double standard. When Christians express traditional views, they’re labeled as hateful bigots. When Christians face actual violence and persecution, the silence is often deafening.  The public discourse disproportionately focuses on manufactured controversies about Christian “intolerance” rather than addressing actual religious persecution worldwide.

Why this focus on manufactured grievances? The answer stems from fear of disapproval, and it is an attempt to be strategic. By framing traditional religious beliefs as inherently oppressive, progressive activists can:

• Dismiss religious arguments without engaging their substance
• Position themselves as defenders of marginalized groups
• Advance a broader cultural agenda that marginalizes traditional religion
• Redirect attention from actual religious persecution elsewhere

The strategy proves particularly effective in an era of social media outrage cycles, where nuance dies and accusations spread faster than truth. 

So what is the path forward?  Can this be turned around?

I tell my listeners and readers all the time that politics is downstream from the culture (a phrase I learned from Andrew Breitbart).  How can we get our political and cultural house in order if we can’t get our churches’ house in order?  The solution is not for Christians to compromise and abandon their convictions, but for society to reclaim a proper understanding of true liberty.  The Constitution and our Natural Rights are about freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom to lodge complaints about the government, and – yes – freedom of religion.  True tolerance means allowing people to hold and express different beliefs without coercion. It means accepting disagreement without labeling it hate.

Christians can maintain their convictions while respecting others’ freedom to differ. The problem arises when one side demands not just tolerance but validation – when disagreement itself becomes unacceptable.

As we navigate these cultural debates, we must distinguish between actual persecution and manufactured grievances. We must challenge narratives that mischaracterize religious conviction as oppression. And we must maintain space for genuine disagreement, and utilize civil discourse in a reasonable manner, in our modern society.

The alternative is a world where only one set of beliefs is permissible – not because it has won the argument, but because it has successfully silenced all opposition through false accusations of intolerance… and that represents the very kind of tyranny the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to defeat and disallow in America.

— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary