I've been somewhat amused and simultaneously astonished at the ironies that are plaguing this election. Here are just a few: Hillary and McCain have been in politics for decades and are millionaires many times over, but Obama is an elitist. Hillary has the blue collar white vote??? And last and most importantly... Jeremiah Wright.
I wonder how many LDS liberals there are? I've attended a Mormon church since before I can remember and I can count on my hands how many liberals I've known. Prominent Mormon church leaders have said things like "blacks will never have the (Mormon) priesthood" and that "the biggest enemies to the church are feminists, intellectuals, and homosexuals." (I like to consider myself both of the former by the way) The late President Gordon B. Hinkley once poked fun of Senator Harry Reid on an LDS broadcast for being a Democrat. And it goes on...
I've endured far, far worse than any of these comments both in church meetings and in less formal settings from LDS Bishops, Stake Presidents, and many others. I've regularly attended our classes and listened to "teachers" talk about how the church's doctrines clearly align with the Republican party and assail "liberals." I wonder, is the fact (and it is a fact) that my Bishop is an unapologetic right-winger cause for doubting my liberal credentials? I wonder how many people have disowned friends and acquaintances they have simply because of disagreement with them?
Would you? Do you really only maintain relationships with people that agree with you? How sad if you do. How much better is the person who keeps up a variety of acquaintances than the narrow-minded fool who keeps the company only of himself and those like him.
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7 comments:
hi eric, i linked to your blog from fMh. it looks great! :) we agree on many things.
my husband and are no longer members, but we received similar treatment and heard similar commentary as liberals in the church. living in provo in 2004 was the worst. the RS canvassed for bush; every SM we'd hear testimony after testimony about how righteous was both the war and the president; my VT asked me why i was LDS if i was liberal...the list goes on. it was very difficult, and questioning yourself, wondering if indeed being a dirty liberal is NOT in line with what god and the church wanted for us, seemed inevitable.
sometimes i wonder if the church would prefer that you were not liberal because it does seem difficult after a while to not question things in the church itself. when you fight against the mainstream, and fight to educate yourself fully, and fight for what you believe is right against all odds, it does seem that ultimately that will bleed over into the things you hold most dear, including your faith. when you ask questions about everything, i don't know how many of us have a staunch red line around religion that cannot be touched. i couldn't say that being a dirty liberal caused me to leave the church, but i also couldn't say that they weren't somewhat related. i believe that conservatism, in its inherent pigheadedness, is intrinsically more compatible with patriarchal, rule-defined religions such as the LDS. and i believe that the leaders of the LDS church are well aware of that and continue to perpetuate that connection because of its impetus to obedience.
i definitely intend to bookmark you.
I'm so glad to read someone else write what I've been thinking. My admiration for Obama has increased because of the way he's refused to repudiate Jeremiah Wright.
chandelle,
I hope you'll check back. I'm planning to get more serious about my blog as I get more and more angry :-)
I suspect that Mormon Liberals feel as you and I, and also that there are a number of other faiths where the same thing happens. I'm just more sensitive to what happens in the church I'm attending.
Incedentally, I heard Glenn Beck ranting about how Obama lacks character for remaining connected to Wright in any way and is in no uncertain terms a lousy American. That's part of what caused me to write about this... that Beck (a mormon) would criticize someone who endures disagreement when the best Republican candidate was outed because of his association with a mormon church is terribly ironic to me! I don't agree w/ Romney on the color of the sky, but John McCain???
Furthermore I'm deeply concerned about the fact that having associations with people that disagree is dangerous. THAT is a dangerous idea.
what frustrates me is all the "controversy" over wright's "hate speech" (which took me back quite a lot as well, i admit), and obama's association with wright, but little is ever mentioned of mccain said he was grateful to have HIS pastor's endorsement, and has not broken with the guy the way obama has with wright, despite HIS "hate speech" about hurricane katrina. or how about the many presidents who have taken billy graham and/or pat robertson as personal spiritual advisors, both of whom have perpetuated unapologetic "hate speech" for most of their careers, ranging from homophobic commentary to anti-semitism. i mean, really, let's be realistic. why isn't mccain targeted, or bush? why wasn't nixon targeted this way? i hate to say it, but it might be because obama is black, and wright is black, and wright's speeches are dictated derogatorily toward white people, and while, hey, it's okay to refer to the jews as "sending this country into the toilet" (graham) but say such a thing about white people? that's just too much, apparently. that disconnect is very frustrating.
little is ever mentioned of mccain, that he said he was grateful to have HIS pastor's endorsement, and has not broken with the guy the way obama has with wright, despite HIS "hate speech" about hurricane katrina.
sorry, the above is now edited, because when i get "het up" i become unintelligible. :)
the racism of mccain's pastor referring to hurricane katrina as "cleaning up" new orleans should also be mentioned, whenever one wants to blather about wright's hate speech.
You may be right about race playing a role in it. It reminds me though of a quote from Frederick Douglas (sp?) who said something roughly like "I call him a patriot who rebukes his country for its wrongs."
I'm not saying America is inherently bad, but we've made mistakes and since when is it wrong to call wrong, wrong???
I have to be honest, the whole bit about "God bless America? No, No, No... God damn America!" I think I understand where he's coming from. I mean really, the idea that God is "blessing" people in this country at the expense of others? Does anyone REALLY believe that? What about the implied idea that we as Americans can do no wrong? If people really believe in their bibles (and BOM's) why not take lessons from them about hubris???
I disagree with you somewhat on your point here Eric. I think it is a stretch to compare Rev. Wright to the church. His speech's are hate filled and disgusting. The way he acts, he seems to be promoting his own agenda of attention and not anything to do with God. I will admit though that I have not heard all of his speech's, but still the way he has acted in the aftermath is very telling. For example you have quoted some quote you found about blacks and the priesthood. Look at the way the church has handled that, blacks have the priesthood and are welcomed, it is even admitted that that was not correct. Wright is still just as obnoxious, even more so in the aftermath. Its also getting annoying to hear the comparisons between Mccain and Obama's pastors. There really is no comparison.
I will agree with you on the point about how Mccain was even elected as the republican nominee. I am considering not voting for him. I have no idea why he was elected (I am sure that Romney being mormon may have had something to do with that). I really don't like him at all. I don't like how he is trying to portray himself as a conservative and I think his actions during the Republican Primaries were pathetic. To me he is extremely hypocritical. There is a lot I like about Obama, however, he is extremely liberal for my taste. So I am really not sure who I am going to vote for right now.
I highly doubt that, as the first poster said, the RS went out and canvassed for Bush as a ward. They were in Provo Utah, just about every woman is in the RS. So if anyone goes out and canvasses, like they do in every state, yes they are doing it for Bush and yes they are in the RS, but that does not mean it was the church going out there to do it. That sounded like someone who is just bitter.
I agree with your point on the need for diversity. You know I am a mormon and a conservative. Your absolutely right I do not understand how you can be a liberal, but I don't mind you having a different opinion. Unlike the sound of the post and the comments, there are plenty of mormons that will not put you down for your beliefs. You do have a tendency to argue, I can see you frustrating any teacher in class :)
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