Summary
This week, Nathan Rogers chats with us about his experiences growing up as a biracial Filipino-American in the South, the evolution of his political views, his thoughts on religion and faith, and the importance of representation.
GUEST BIO
Nathan Rogers is a Filipino-American, forever bound to the hyphen. He is an incoming startup manager and a recent MBA graduate from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. While at Rice, he was a Fellow of the Consortium for Graduate Study in business, the leading diversity, equity, and inclusion fellowship dedicated to increasing representation at top MBA programs in the U.S. He lives in Houston with his wife, Lauren, and daughter, Corazon. In his spare time he shares his writing about work, faith, culture and their intersections on Medium.
Connect with Nathan on Medium, Instagram or Twitter.
TERMS
Capitalism – is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit.
The Aquino administration began following the triumph of the People Power Revolution movement which overthrew the dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.As a revolutionary president, Corazon Aquino repealed & abolished repressive laws under her predecessor, restored civil liberties.
HeLa cells – the first cells that could be easily shared and multiplied in a lab setting, obtained during Henrietta Lacks’s cancer treatment by Johns Hopkins researcher Dr. George Gey in 1951.
Moral majority – a political action group formed in the 1970s to further a conservative and religious agenda, including anti-LGBTQ+ laws, anti-choice, anti Equal Rights Amendment, and promoting the conversion to Christianity.
Abrahamic religions such as Judaisim, Christianity and Islam are religions derived from the teachings of prophet Abraham.Lobbying – the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies
MENTIONED:
Atlantic article – “Even My Business Students Have Doubts About Capitalism” – Glen Hubbard
“Southern Baptists Refused to Act on Abuse, Despite Secret List of Pastors”
TAKEAWAYS:
- The ideals that the United States promotes–of freedom and self-determination–are appealing in theory. But in practice they are not equitably accessible to everybody.
- In America, Christianity is strongly associated with being Republican, but actually, many Democrats are devout Christians too. In most countries, there is no strong association between political parties and specific religious sects. And religious beliefs typically don’t influence political policy.
- In many conservative Christian households, the pressure to go along with the party’s political stances often leaves no room for nuance because any questioning of the GOP is immediately reframed as an attack on Christianity and a weakening of their faith.
- It takes a lot of work to disentangle identity, religion, and politics. Asking ourselves if the systems and policies we have in place truly represent the people’s interests is uncomfortable. It takes unlearning, and re-learning, to piece together a more objective worldview that is free from religious or political agendas.
- If religion is to be a safe space and a supportive community, religious leaders need to help depolarize politics and encourage true separation of church and state.
- It’s important to hold political leaders accountable, & research each candidates’ platform before voting, instead of simply voting along party lines.
- One of the main issues with the “pro-life” movement is that, for them, “pro-life” seems to stop at childbirth. They do not advocate for these children once they become school children, mothers, or members of marginalized minorities. This has caused many religious conservatives to question their affiliation with the GOP.
- The two party system has led to two fractured parties by which many Americans do not feel adequately represented due to an increasing disconnect between the party’s values and the people’s interests.
- Capitalism and the free market function as intended. They were designed to enrich some and exploit the rest.
- Many BIPOC & AAPI grew up as conservative Christians and their voices can bring great perspectives to these conversations, as we’ve heard today.
- Finally, if you’re a Christian conservative, we hope this conversation empowers you to have nuance in your political opinions, like Nathan did. And If you’re more on the left, we hope this conversation gave you hope and helped you see that not all Christian conservatives are willing to blindly follow the GOP.
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