The Push-Back Against Identity Politics

Now that identity politics has wrapped its tentacles around every aspect of our lives, we are suffocating as individuals. The words we use, the clothes we wear, what we drive, the entertainment we choose, the sports figures we admire or dislike, how we identify our gender — they all express our political identity.

Activists from left and right give us a narrative that explains why we feel disenfranchised. They promise that we can be empowered if we give money to their organizations, show up at their rallies, take their training courses, and share their posts. It feels great to become conscious of new grievances. “Identity” seems liberating.

But the oppression narrative is always the same. The majority marginalizes X because of the majority’s fear and ignorance. They have rigged the system against X. Once X stands up, fights back, tweets aggressively, raises awareness, passes laws, wins over judges, whatever, then X can achieve equality, gain respect, take our country back, etc.

Straight-up demagoguery.

Identity politics thrives on aggression, substituting insult humor for reasoning. It has given us endless bumper-sticker wars, memes featuring Gene Wilder, and two presidential nominees who alienate voters at unprecedented levels.

Quietly, I see identity politics losing its choke-hold on individuals. And I thank God.

I am thinking of people who are detaching from the alt-right. I’m thinking of others who no longer feel that they are defined by their race. Still others have left the LGBT community because they are tired of being defined by sexuality. Within the Christian community, I am seeing people reject factional agendas (and the hacks who promote those agendas) to build common ground on the essentials of the Gospel.

This mixture of refugees from so many identities creates a strange congregation — at first glance. There is not a common demographic at Chico Grace Brethren. But there is a common identity. We have all said, “I’m with the people who follow Jesus, even if it costs me my old community.”

To put it more bluntly, we’re saying to the activists, “Stop telling me who I am. Only Christ has that right.”