Yesterday I saw a truck with two incongruous elements: a big cross on the left and a huge National Rifle Association sticker on the right. Whether these two specific items are actually incompatible with each other may be debatable, but they did remind me of the strange make-up of beliefs and ideologies of the two political parties in the US.

Specifically, it's strange that there is a large swath of the population that is so strongly Christian and so pro-gun, pro death penalty, pro war, pro amassing as money as possible, indifferent to poor people and unforgiving of their perceived laziness, etc. It's strange that Christian conservatives use 'bleeding heart' as an insult; it should be they who should be striving to be as 'bleeding heart' as possible if they were true to their religion. It's strange that it is the liberals (who have a higher percent of atheists) who are more concerned with the welfare of the poor, about a social safety net, about being more forgiving towards transgressors, about avoiding war, etc.

Putting aside arguments about whether or not Jesus existed or whether or not he was divine, the following statements define what Jesus was all about, and are in stark contrast to beliefs/ideologies of Christian conservatives:

• "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also"
• "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you"
• "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God"

If political parties in the US made sense, the allocation of beliefs and ideologies of the two parties would be closer to the following than to what we currently have:

* In the sense of a survival-of-the-fittest approach. "Everyone should take care of themselves".

Note:

• Most of the above follows current patterns, except for the first and last two items.
• I understant that not all conservatives are Christians and not all liberals are atheists, but the overall pattern is that there is a higher percentage of Christians in the Republican party.
• It's clear that some people might be pro war and pro death penalty, and other people might be deeply Christian, and these can be different constituencies of the same party. Not all constituencies of a party can agree on all topics. It's only when the same person is both deeply Christian and pro war, pro death penalty, pro gun, "screw the poor because they're lazy" when it becomes irrational. I claim that there is a large number of such people.
• It's also clear that being an atheist does not automatically make you pro-war, pro death penalty, indifferent to the plight of poor people, etc. So the above table is not the most sane allocation of beliefs and ideologies, it's just a more sane allocation than the current one, while trying to keep the number of "item swaps" to a minimum.