A Thought for the “Politically Homeless”
By Dr. Mather
I’ve been going back and forth with some calling themselves politically “homeless” and I have a comment about the way this strikes me. They want to come onto the podcast all the time. And many are much more “successful” in worldy terms podcasters.
The metaphor of a “home” strikes me as so odd, I’m not sure where to begin. I’ve never thought of a political party as anything akin to a home.
The home is as opposed to public space. It’s quintessentially a private sphere of influence. Much of our politics involves the conflict between public and private — that’s what politics is, in large part. (Cf, TRP’s podcast episodes on Pope Leo’s stance against socialism, or Richard A. Epstein’s book “Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain (Harvard U. Press 1985) or the standard capacity magazine ban series, or on homeschooling series, including one with Heidi St. John, one with Dr. Brian Ray, Ph.D., and one with Tuttle Twins creator and author Connor Boyack (guest co-hosted with Jessica Wilkinson).
Political party is not a home.
And you’re not homeless when you’re really popular. You’re just probably more nit-picky or critical or foul-mooded perhaps, but you’re not homeless.
The metaphor I think is more apt for a political party is, a work party you’re invited to. Most invited sit on their asses and complain and criticize everyone else while helping themselves to the snacks. But no one lives there. It’s not your or anyone’s home. It’s a work party.
So, I’m not impressed with the term “politically homeless.” It’s as weird as saying you’re philosophically homeless. Philosophy is not a home, it’s a set of tools to help you understand the world the way the world really is, and how you ought to fit it versus how you do.
I could go on. But that’s the “what-seems-to-be-popular-but-makes-no-sense-to-me point of the day.”
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Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D. is the producer and host of The Republican Professor podcast. Dr. Mather has designed and taught over 190 college and university courses in Southern California.
