Ezra Washington’s Perspective (Part 1)

11/22/2021 – Updated with new title

Recently, I “met” Ezra Washington online in the comments section of an Instagram post that involved Christians, Conservatives, and social justice.

Yes, that’s right! We met on Instagram while discussing differing ideas. And after some friendly back-and-forth, we decided to record our chat so I could share it as a podcast episode.

I’ve personally experienced what I consider to be intolerance from some around me. And I’ve seen an unwillingness to engage in healthy and productive conversations from some with others who disagree. It only exacerbates the divide between people without any attempt at bridging the gap.

But it was clear to me that, even though Ezra and I disagreed on topics, even some that can be emotionally charged and polarizing, we were friendly with each other. We actually listened to each other. And rather than focusing heavily on making our own points and emphasizing our own ideas, I felt like we were truly trying to understand each other better.

And so I thought sharing this recording of our conversation might be something to serve as an example that conversations like this can actually happen. And thankfully, Ezra graciously agreed.

So that’s the hope for this episode. As always, if you disagree with anything I say, I’d love to hear from you. And maybe we can have a conversation like this, even if we don’t record it for a podcast. But I would ask that if you disagree with anything Ezra says, I hope you’ll treat him with respect and kindness while appreciating his vulnerability and willingness to share his ideas.

Below are some of the highlights:

• 7:00 – Here is the Instagram post that started the discussion between Ezra and I.
• 12:00 – Ezra offers his definition of what it means to be a Conservative.
• 16:00 – We discuss the question, what is justice?
• 23:45 – Ezra offers thoughts on how pursuing justice overall is the way to go and uses abortion as an example.
• 34:00 – Ezra refers to Ryan Bomberger and The Radiance Foundation.
• 42:30 – Ezra explains why he considers MLK a Conservative during the Civil Rights era.
• 47:00 – We share thoughts on Confederate monuments, and Ezra describes this statue on Monument Row.
• 51:30 – Ezra describes why removing a Robert E. Lee statue would break his heart.
• 54:30 – Ezra brings up Critical Race Theory which we discuss more in the next episode.

Ezra and I chatted for several hours so I opted to break our conversation down into two episodes. Be on the lookout for part 2 coming soon!