There are too many words in American politics.
Too many labels. Too many theories. Too many podcasts. Too many experts. Too many people screaming at each other about capitalism, socialism, communism, liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, globalism, progressivism and whatever new ism someone decides to manufacture tomorrow.
The Bible warned us about this thousands of years ago.
Proverbs 10:19 says:
“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”
In modern language, where there are endless words, wrongdoing is never far away.
Maybe that is part of the problem with American politics.
We have buried something very simple underneath a mountain of words.
I want to offer a much simpler lens through which to view what is happening in America.
Forget left versus right for a moment.
Forget Democrat versus Republican.
Forget socialist versus capitalist.
Forget conservative versus progressive.
There are really two forces struggling against one another.
There are those who ultimately want to preserve the system.
And there are those who want to radically change it.
That distinction has almost nothing to do with the labels we have been taught to use.
In fact, the labels may be one of the greatest distractions preventing us from seeing what is actually happening.
Right now, America is once again being encouraged to obsess over those labels. “Communist” has returned as a political weapon heading into the 2026 midterms, while Democrats themselves are fighting over whether their future belongs to moderates or progressives. Yet even Pew Research Center’s 2026 examination of American political attitudes describes a country whose values cannot be neatly contained inside the traditional red and blue boxes.
Maybe the boxes are the problem.
Capitalism is a system.
Socialism is a system.
Communism is a system.
Democracy is a system.
All of them ultimately answer questions about who controls resources, how power is distributed, how decisions are made and how society organizes itself.
But none of those words answers the most important question:
What lives inside the hearts of the people controlling the system?
You can put a greedy man inside capitalism.
You can put a greedy man inside socialism.
You can put a greedy man inside communism.
You can put a greedy man inside a democracy.
Change the sign on the building all you want. If greed, ego, deception and the lust for power remain inside, you have changed the architecture without changing the spirit occupying it.
That is not radical change.
It is remodeling.
True radical change goes to the root.
And the root is Love.
Love Is Not Weakness
I have written extensively about Love because I believe we have fundamentally misunderstood what Love is.
Love is not weakness.
Love is not pretending everything is fine.
Love is not allowing someone to abuse you because you want to prove how spiritual you are.
Love does not require abandoning truth to keep the peace.
Forgiveness is not permission.
And a rebuke is not revenge.
True Love requires truth.
Paul tells us exactly this in 1 Corinthians 13:6 when he says Love:
“Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.”
Think about what that means when applied to politics.
Love cannot rejoice in corruption because the corrupt politician belongs to your political party.
Love cannot ignore injustice because exposing it might help the other side.
Love cannot defend dishonesty because the liar happens to support your preferred candidate.
Love cannot demand transparency from Republicans while accepting secrecy from Democrats.
Love cannot demand accountability from Democrats while making excuses for Republicans.
That isn’t Love.
That is tribalism.
And tribalism is rooted in ego.
My team. My candidate. My movement. My ideology. My victory.
Love asks an entirely different set of questions.
What is true?
What is just?
Who has been harmed?
Who is responsible?
What is being hidden?
Who needs protection?
Who needs to be held accountable?
Those questions work under every political system ever created.
That is why Love is more radical than any ideology.
Justice Is Love Applied to Power
People sometimes speak of Love as though it requires us to float above the ugliness of politics.
I believe the opposite.
If you truly Love people, injustice should bother you.
Corruption should bother you.
Lies should bother you.
Abuse of power should bother you.
The exploitation of poor people should bother you.
The exploitation of wealthy people should bother you.
Government abusing an individual should bother you.
Corporations abusing individuals should bother you.
Powerful institutions hiding information from the public should bother you.
Someone being denied justice because of their race should bother you.
Someone being denied justice because of their political beliefs should bother you.
Someone you despise being denied due process should bother you.
Because justice that only applies to people we like isn’t justice.
It is favoritism wearing judicial robes.
Love demands something much harder.
One standard.
That is radical.
Imagine an America where conservatives demanded accountability from conservative politicians with the same intensity they demanded it from liberals.
Imagine liberals demanding transparency from liberal institutions with the same intensity they demand it from conservative institutions.
Imagine Americans defending the constitutional rights of people they absolutely despise.
Imagine journalists investigating their ideological allies as aggressively as their ideological enemies.
Imagine voters saying:
I don’t care if exposing the truth hurts my party.
I don’t care if justice costs us an election.
I don’t care if transparency embarrasses someone I supported.
If it is true, reveal it.
If it is wrong, confront it.
If someone was harmed, seek justice.
If power was abused, demand accountability.
Now we are talking about radical change.
The System Protects Ego
The existing political structure has a tremendous weapon available to prevent this from happening.
Identity.
Get people emotionally attached to political identities and they will begin protecting things they would otherwise condemn.
That is the trap.
Once someone says, “I am a Republican,” there becomes tremendous pressure to defend Republicans.
Once someone says, “I am a Democrat,” there becomes tremendous pressure to defend Democrats.
Once someone defines themselves primarily as a capitalist, socialist, conservative, progressive or nationalist, criticism of the ideology can begin to feel like criticism of the person.
Ego enters the room.
And once ego enters the room, truth usually starts looking for the exit.
This is why I believe the political transformation America needs is much deeper than changing parties.
We don’t simply need different people sitting in the chairs.
We need to change the standard by which we judge whoever sits in them.
That standard should be Love.
Not emotional Love.
Not romantic Love.
Not performative Love.
God-centered Love rooted in truth, justice, mercy, courage, service and accountability.
The kind of Love strong enough to forgive an enemy while still demanding that the enemy stop hurting people.
The kind of Love capable of showing mercy to the guilty while still protecting the innocent.
The kind of Love that can look someone directly in the face and say:
What you are doing is wrong.
And I refuse to hate you.
But I also refuse to help you continue doing it.
That is power.
A Simple Political Test
So from now on, I believe there is a very simple way to evaluate almost every political issue placed before us.
Remove the political labels first.
Strip them completely away.
Then ask:
Where is the truth?
Where is the injustice?
Who possesses the power?
Who is demanding transparency?
Who is resisting transparency?
Who is seeking accountability?
Who is protecting people from accountability?
Follow those answers.
Do it regardless of party.
Do it regardless of ideology.
Do it regardless of race.
Do it regardless of religion.
Do it regardless of wealth.
Do it regardless of whether the person involved is someone you admire or someone you cannot stand.
And most importantly, be willing to follow those answers no matter the cost.
Because that is where the real test begins.
Everyone loves accountability when their enemy is being investigated.
Everyone loves transparency when the documents embarrass the other side.
Everyone loves justice when the verdict validates something they already believed.
But Love asks whether you still want the truth when the truth walks through your front door.
Will you demand the documents when they expose your friends?
Will you support the investigation when it reaches your political party?
Will you defend someone’s rights when you despise their politics?
Will you admit you were wrong when the evidence demands it?
Will you sacrifice power rather than sacrifice truth?
That is the dividing line.
Beyond Left and Right
I no longer believe the great struggle before us is fundamentally left versus right.
It is deeper than that.
It is ego versus Love.
Secrecy versus transparency.
Impunity versus accountability.
Deception versus truth.
Injustice versus justice.
One side says the preservation of power is the highest objective.
The other says truth must prevail even if our own kingdoms have to fall.
That second path is frightening because it offers no permanent political shelter.
There is nowhere to hide.
Love will investigate everybody.
Love will question everybody.
Love will hold everybody accountable.
Love has no sacred political cows.
Love doesn’t care what television network you watch.
Love doesn’t care what color hat you wear.
Love doesn’t care which box you checked in the last election.
Love wants the truth.
And once we begin viewing politics through that lens, much of the noise disappears.
You don’t need to understand every political philosophy ever written.
You don’t need to memorize every talking point.
You don’t need someone on television telling you which side to hate today.
Look for truth.
Demand transparency.
Seek justice.
Insist upon accountability.
Protect the innocent.
Show mercy where mercy is warranted.
Forgive without becoming a fool.
Rebuke without becoming hateful.
And never surrender your humanity simply because someone convinced you that winning an election was more important.
The Bible gave us the warning.
“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.”
America has had enough words.
Maybe it is time for a simpler lens.
Love.
Not Love as weakness.
Not Love as surrender.
Not Love as blindness.
Love as truth.
Love as justice.
Love as courage.
Love as accountability.
Love as transparency.
Love as mercy.
Love as the willingness to tear down anything built upon lies, including something we once believed in ourselves.
That is radical change.
Everything else may simply be another coat of paint on the same old system.