This article was posted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom website in 2009, that is the "Official resource for news media, opinion leaders, and the public". I found it an absolutely essential read for everyone, not just the members of our Church. As typical with their timing, they are largely ahead of the game, and their words are more needed today than 2009. Without further adieu:
6 comments:
There isn't a thing in this statement I disagree with. Unfortunately, the Tea Partiers (and their birther offshoots) and the racists on the extremist Right haven't gotten the message:
"Some people mistakenly think responses such as silence, meekness, forgiveness, and bearing humble testimony are passive or weak. But, to ‘love [our] enemies, bless them that curse [us], do good to them that hate [us], and pray for them which despitefully use [us], and persecute [us]’ (Matthew 5:44) takes faith, strength, and, most of all, Christian courage.
The moral basis of civility is the Golden Rule, taught by a broad range of cultures and individuals, perhaps most popularly by Jesus Christ: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). This ethic of reciprocity reminds us all of our responsibility toward one another and reinforces the communal nature of human life.
Similarly, the Book of Mormon tells a sober story of civilizational decline in which various peoples repeat the cycle of prosperity, pride and fall. In almost every case, the seeds of decay begin with the violation of the simple rules of civility. Cooperation, humility and empathy gradually give way to contention, strife and malice.
The need for civility is perhaps most relevant in the realm of partisan politics. As the Church operates in countries around the world, it embraces the richness of pluralism. Thus, the political diversity of Latter-day Saints spans the ideological spectrum. Individual members are free to choose their own political philosophy and affiliation. Moreover, the Church itself is not aligned with any particular political ideology or movement. It defies category. Its moral values may be expressed in a number of parties and ideologies.
Furthermore, the Church views with concern the politics of fear and rhetorical extremism that render civil discussion impossible.
Latter-day Saint ethical life requires members to treat their neighbors with respect, regardless of the situation. Behavior in a religious setting should be consistent with behavior in a secular setting. The Church hopes that our democratic system will facilitate kinder and more reasoned exchanges among fellow Americans than we are now seeing."
These are some of the highlights for me. The Tea Party (writ large, not individuals) has violated every one of these precepts. Beginning with the Golden Rule, do unto others. For example, Teabaggers who live off of Social Security and Medicare are engaged in denying the extension of universal healthcare to their fellow Americans. GOP members of Congress (except for one or two, I think) don't see the contradiction of denying to uninsured Americans the "government" healthcare they and their families enjoy. The vitriolic rhetoric, especially directed against our President (because, I am convinced, he is a black man), calling him a "socialist", a "nazi", illegitimate (they don't recognize Hawaii as our 50th state), equating healthcare reform to Nazi extermination camps at Dachau -- this is respectful behavior, cooperation, humility, and empathy? REALLY?? NEWSFLASH: These Mormon precepts are ALL LIBERAL VALUES.
Republicans have refused to cooperate with this President on anything, they have shown NO EMPATHY for the poor and unemployed, and little humility when it comes to the privileges and prerogatives of the rich and powerful. The Tea Party has behaved with selfishness,"contention, strife and malice." They are GROSS VIOLATORS of these Mormon precepts. Whatever happened to "people in glass houses..." or "take a look in the mirror"? Especially, when their basic assumptions about the healthcare law are just plain WRONG. There is an editorial in the NYT today on the consequences of repeal. Look it up.
Oh, and another thing: This statement, "the communal nature of human life" sounds awfully socialistic to me.
The comment above IS the problem! Carlos talks of the simple rules of civility. Cooperation, humility and empathy that are found in the book of Mormon as well as the importance of golden rule and then in the same breath makes ugly accusations against the "racist right" and the "teabaggers" who have NO EMPATHY for the poor and unemployed. Wow, sounds like someone is missing their own point.
Many people disagree, especially on health care and the direction the country is going under this president, I am one of those, so Carlos accuses me of not living the golden rule and being racist. He also tells me that mormon precepts are only liberal values. Hmmm sounds like someone is intolerant of differing opinions, and not very humble or empathetic.
It is the whole concept of the mote and beam. It is much easier to point out others faults than look at your own. Just like it is much easier to interpret a neutral, ethical political suggestion to accuse others, than look at your own party or personal political actions.
Carlos, I could go line by line and discredit every single argument you made. I could quote Mark Twain "Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please". Or even show similar actions by numerous liberal organizations as a whole, or extreme leftists who proved to be as ignorant, racists, selfish, biased and even violent as you claim the "tea baggers" are. But that is just playing into the game that the entire article discourages and even condemns. Your arguments fall on deaf ears because you have not proven to take your own advice, your entire blog and comments here prove so.
About repeal, you are in the shrinking minority in support of this "health care bill" and as representatives OF THE PEOPLE and the overwhelming number of constiuents that voted them into office, they are doing the will of the people. I have read all the pro's and con's of keeping/repealing the bill and I am still in HUGE support of repeal.
In regards to the "the communal nature of human life" being socialistic, is as ridiculous as stating that the best way to return to God is being forced into righteousness. The government forcing generosity through taxes and entitlements is completely opposite to the basic tenets of what we believe. Free agency, free to choose, to act and not be acted upon, gift of choice, agents unto ourselves - catch a theme? The entire argument of not supporting more entitlements or increase in taxes being un-Christian is entirely false. Thankfully, the Church authorities do not tell you who to vote for, or define righteous political parties or ideology.
Also, in response to your inaccurate generalization of the entire Tea Party, republicans, conservatives, let the quote from Machiavelli soak in: "Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations." And in conclusion, a great quote from Mark Twain: "A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation".
I like your Twain quotes. He's one of my favorite authors -- UNCENSORED. BTW, some are apparently questioning Twain's character enough to want to remove the racist references in Huck Finn; clean them up. I oppose that. I read it, and it didn't turn me into a racist.
I don't gratuitously try to offend anyone, but if something offends me to the core (as racism does, in SPADES in the Tea Party), I will speak out. Liberals don't do it enough. It's NOT OK for Beck to want to shoot Michael Moore, or hire someone to. I've never called for physical harm to be done to anyone. But YOU Beck listeners don't bat an eye at such language. SHOW ME ANY "LEFTIST" TODAY who has called for shooting someone they disagree with ideologically. You don't have a leg to stand on with your false equivalence.
Racists, neo-Nazis, Birchers, Birthers, are sick people who do not deserve the benefit of the doubt. They infest the Tea Party with apparent impunity. The only time you expel people is when they're in the news for doing or saying something extreme. The question is, who or what allowed them to express such despicable views? Free Speech? Fine, but the 1st Amendment does not apply to private groups.
Healthcare is not a "bill", it's THE LAW, so who is being distortive? I know, you misspoke. I can quote a CNN POLL that says, 43% of the people support the LAW, but 13% OPPOSE IT because it's NOT LIBERAL ENOUGH. That's ME! I'm in the "opposition" column although, my position is, YES I OPPOSE IT b/c it isn't LIBERAL enough (no public option) BUT YES I'LL TAKE IT, b/c it's better than the HORRIBLE status quo. SO, IN FACT, 56% OF THE PEOPLE ARE IN FAVOR OF THE LAW AS IT IS, OR WOULD LIKE IT TO BE MORE LIBERAL. You may think you represent a majority, but the Tea Party is no more than 20% give or take of the electorate. There are accurate facts and figures that, in fact you do not represent "THE PEOPLE". You represent a small, vocal slice of disgruntled white people. What would you cut first? Preexisting conditions for children? Affordable meds for seniors? Caps on lifetime limits so a costly illness does not bankrupt you? BE SPECIFIC!
You won't "discredit" anyone basing your assumptions on Beck or Fox "News". He's sick, delusional paranoid who LIES A LOT. As does Fox. There are university studies, FACTS, that Fox consumers of news are the MOST MISINFORMED OF ALL.
Twain said "all generalizations are false, including this one." Chew on that. I have seen too many RACIST SIGNS IN TEA PARTY DEMONSTRATIONS, and not enough of you cleaning up your act; just a lot of denial. I've read quite a bit on the Tea Party, e.g. the extensive NAACP report. Enough to know that the extremism and the racism ARE REAL and not figments of anyone's imagination.
RECORDED disruptions of angry Teabagger behavior at town halls, including Giffords', speak for themselves. It's ugly, violent, bullying and not many of you denounce it. I see a lot of passive people, but very few actually saying OUT and DOWN with that sign.
You're decent folks. But the blinders some wear remind me of the German people standing by as Hitler took their Jewish neighbors away. Obama IS NOT Hitler. Obama IS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. How many of your Tea Partiers believe it? If you're caught up in insane conspiracies, you need to examine your assumptions and collective behavior.
Free agency, yeah I "catch a theme." The absence of government is anarchy. Government is NOT your enemy, "government" is US. It's OK to discuss appropriate limits to government. It's NOT OK to call it "tyrannical" or President Obama a "traitor," so we must arm ourselves to fight an illegitimate black man, born in Kenya or Mars, product of a generational Islamic conspiracy to take over our nation. That kind of talk is not only irresponsible, it's insane.
Carlos, the fact that you can take a non-partisan, uplifting and encouraging message as another platform for your rants is no different to what you despise about Rush, Beck and Hannity. All three (four including you) could take a beautiful and inspiring message and use it as an opportunity to spew hate. And yes, you spew hate. Really, you are a liberal's Rush. And why didn't you share the exact same information on the PoliticalMomsUnite blog, which you follow and comment on? I got this article from them. Why not rant about the Tea Parties on their blog?
Of course I don't believe in anarchy. I am not anti-government. Anyone who is, is anarchist. Government is a necessary evil. If you want to know my idea of appropriate government, this speech given by a Church leader, sums it up. Which, I might listen to again and do a post on it.
http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6985&x=52&y=5
I really like this article and I wish people would read it at face value and leave it at that. We all need to improve and do better. On the more left side of things I think that Christina is very civil and and fair in her arguments. On the right, I think that Sarah does the same thing. It is possible for people with disagreeing view points to have a conversation about differences of opinion and make their point. Carlos likes to blame tea parties and fox news for all the problems in the world. Carlos, you are obviously missing the point of the article.
(Gale I didn't mean to leave you out, I always love your comments and insight--you and I have just been out of the loop for a long time)
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