Over the past quarter-century, it has been my policy as a journalist not to wear my political heart on my sleeve. I’m a citizen, the same as you; I have just as much right to my own opinion as you. But my job as a reporter is to be fair to both sides, and to let my work speak for itself. If I am fair to those I cover, it should not matter what my private views are. Talking too much about my own views would only give ammunition, in the form of circumstantial evidence, to those who would accuse me of bias.

That approach is not as dominant as it once was. I have co-workers (on either end of the political spectrum) who are far more open in talking about their politics than I am. Some people feel that for a reporter to disclose his own views is healthy, because it gives the news consumer a chance to analyze the reporter’s work for bias.

Today, with the prevalence of opinion-oriented magazines, talk radio and political pundits, it’s easy to find news reporting that confirms whatever it is you already believe, left or right, and that whispers in your ear that every other news source is obviously biased against you, so keep your TV / radio / mailbox tuned right here. People are more predisposed to find bias where it exists, but they are also more predisposed to find bias where it doesn’t really exist.

Anyway, I still find it the wisest course not to talk too much about my political views. Sometimes it’s frustrating; I had strong feelings about an election last year and really hated not being able to talk about them.

Our church resumed its regular Wednesday-night schedule of events tonight after a summer break. We have a catered meal at 5:30, followed by a variety of activities including a Bible study taught by our pastor.

The pastor hadn’t announced what the theme of the next Bible study would be. Tonight, he announced that he was doing a special one-night-only discussion of the health care issue. He started by reading this essay by Bishop Will Willimon, which I have to say I’d read myself a week or two ago.

The pastor applauded Willimon’s stated thesis, which is simply that this is an important issue about which Christians must be aware, and that Christians must be concerned about the needs of our neighbors. The pastor tried to say that he wasn’t pushing any particular political approach.

But some of the Bible study participants felt blindsided, and leaped into the fray to challenge some of the preacher’s assumptions and biases, real or imagined. There was a vigorous debate — heated at times — about who does and doesn’t deserve health care, about whether we are creating a culture of entitlement, about what is or isn’t available now in terms of health care, and so on.

I was sitting there at my table, looking down (often with eyes completely shut), clenching my teeth, totally miserable. The discussion turned political a few times, and I wanted desperately to get up and leave. But I was scared that if I got up while this one was speaking it would be taken as an endorsement of that side. If I got up while that one was speaking it would be taken as an endorsement of this side.

There were conservative points that annoyed me. There were liberal points that annoyed me. There were times when I wanted to yell “shut up!” to everyone in the room.

I had, actually, toyed with the idea of slipping out of church right after the meal and not staying for Bible study. I really, really wish I’d taken that course.

And yet, in some ways, the discussion did exactly what the preacher intended it to do. The role of the church in providing help to the community was discussed. Are we, as a church, doing enough? Do we support our local free clinic for the working poor? Did we consider buying the county-owned nursing home in order to keep it from being leased to a private operator? What are our responsibilities as Christians, individually, as citizens, or as a church?

Now, I feel like I need health care. I bet my blood pressure rose 20 points during that hour.