Two Wings of the Same Bird: The Wisdom of Conservatism, Liberalism, and the Danger of Retributive Politics
By +Brian Ernest Brown
There is an old metaphor that says a nation needs two wings to fly. Not one. Not one pretending to be two. But two wings, strong, balanced, countering and complementing each other, to keep the whole body aloft.
In healthier chapters of American history, conservatism and liberalism provided that balance. They disagreed, sometimes fiercely, but they shared a commitment to the common good, to basic norms of decency, to the belief that disagreement does not make someone an enemy. They served as necessary correctives to one another, each restraining the excesses of the other, each reminding the other of truths too easily forgotten.
Traditional conservatism, at its best, offered us:
- Prudence in policymaking, a healthy caution against rash decisions.
- Reverence for continuity and tradition, remembering that we are heirs to hard-won wisdom.
- Respect for local communities, institutions, and the mediating structures of civil society.
- Personal responsibility paired with moral seriousness.
Traditional liberalism, at its best, offered us:
- Compassion for the marginalized and vulnerable.
- Belief in equality and dignity for all people.
- Commitment to civil rights and expanding the circle of belonging.
- Recognition that government can be a tool to uplift those left behind.
These were not flawless visions, no human ideology is, but together they formed the rhythms of a functioning democracy. One said, “Let us preserve what is good.” The other said, “Let us repair what is broken.” And both, at least in aspiration, believed that one could preserve and repair at the same time.
But something has changed.
In recent years, a new movement, MAGA, has tried to replace conservatism altogether. It borrows conservative language but abandons conservative virtues. Its energy is not rooted in tradition but in grievance. Its identity is not defined by civic responsibility but by resentment. Its goal is not stewardship of the nation but retribution against perceived enemies.
This is not conservatism. It is not even a political philosophy. It is a mood, one fed by fear, inflamed by misinformation, and baptized in a counterfeit religion that confuses cruelty for strength.
Where classical conservatism values prudence, MAGA indulges impulse. Where liberalism values inclusion, MAGA demands exclusion. Where both liberal and conservative traditions recognize the dignity of immigrants, MAGA embraces anti-immigrant hostility as a point of pride. Where responsible leaders once sought national unity, MAGA thrives on the language of us versus them, turning neighbors into threats and political opponents into existential enemies.
Most dangerously, where traditional politics accepts the need for compromise, MAGA sees compromise as betrayal. The result? A politics no longer capable of governing only of punishing.
This is not a right-wing movement nor a left-wing one. It is something older and darker, a politics of retribution, the belief that power exists not to serve, but to strike back.
But the Gospel speaks a different word.
- Jesus did not say, “Love your neighbor if they vote like you.”
- He did not say, “Bless those who bless you and curse those who oppose you.”
- He did not say, “Build a society of walls and enemies.”
He said:
- “Bless those who curse you.”
- “Love your enemies.”
- “Do good to those who hate you.”
- “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
A society rooted in this command cannot survive on grievance. It cannot thrive on cruelty. It cannot flourish without compassion. And it cannot fly with one broken wing.
The Via Media, the middle way, is not the bland center between two extremes. It is the sacred space where conscience meets compassion, where truth confronts fear, where the wisdom of tradition meets the urgency of justice. It is the recognition that no party, no ideology, no movement holds the whole of truth and that our responsibility is not to align ourselves with a tribe, but with the common good.
If America is to be healed, it will not be through dominance of one side or the humiliation of the other. It will be through the restoration of neighborliness, shared responsibility, and a moral imagination wide enough to see that we belong to one another.
We cannot recover that vision by returning to the past. We recover it by remembering who we are and who we are called to be:
- A people who love their neighbors.
- A people who care for the vulnerable.
- A people who can disagree without dehumanizing.
- A people who understand that freedom and responsibility are inseparable.
- A people who believe that the image of God is not confined to one party, one movement, or one ideology.
- A people who fly with two wings, not one.
May we have the courage to rebuild what has been broken, to honor what deserves preserving, and to reject the politics of grievance that seeks to pit American against American. For only then can we rise again, not as factions, but as neighbors.
In Christ,
+B