In which I look at what it means to be a liberal Latter-day Saint.
I don't think it's any big surprise to those who know me at all that I have some liberal ideas about some things. It is quite fascinating to me the reaction I get from friends and family who either assumed I was like them, or who thought I was putting on a show in the name of stirring the pot. Well, I do enjoy a good healthy discussion about values/ideas. And having someone who is able to articulate a contrary point of view in a respectful and thoughtful way is always a joy.
But believe me, being liberal - or having some liberal ideas - makes me about as comfortable as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I have had some very awkward exchanges due to my political beliefs, in settings that are very public and involving people who should have known better. I think perhaps I make them uncomfortable, too, so they respond to the unknown, to the disconcerting (a faithful, liberal Mormon is almost a contradiction in terms... but hey, at least I'm a white male, so they can relate to me on that level, right?)... I wonder about how I would be treated if I were a faithful, black, feminist woman.
I really do wonder. That would be quite enlightening.
Because people assume things about you based on the way you look. They also assume things about you based on your history. And on your skin color. And on your height. And on your professed religion. And on your gender attraction. And on your political affiliations.
I also frequently get castigated for my support of the University of Utah, but mostly that's just in fun.
So, like I said, I make people uncomfortable because I don't fit into their world view. I make them reconsider what they've believed. I have had people - several people - tell me that no good, upstanding member of the Church can be a Democrat. Which would be more offensive if it weren't so patently ludicrous. I know MANY good members of the Church who are Democrats. Many. Including my sweet mother. President James E. Faust was a life-long Democrat. That (obviously) didn't preclude him from being a good member of the Church. His talks are full of the kind of love and grace that are hallmarks of the Democratic party.
But that's not the point. There is no corner on the market for compassion. The ideals of grace and love do not belong to one political party or the other. Democrats do not want to create a nanny state, any more than Republicans want to generate Galt's Gulch. We live in a society where most of us are really in the middle somewhere. Some differences are more obvious than others, and some are just frankly more fun to discuss. But it is these differences that make us strong, in the way that different metals are added to an alloy to give some of those properties to the resulting product, which makes it stronger, more resilient, and more valuable.
Our differences do not define us, but they do serve to strengthen us.
I don't think it's any big surprise to those who know me at all that I have some liberal ideas about some things. It is quite fascinating to me the reaction I get from friends and family who either assumed I was like them, or who thought I was putting on a show in the name of stirring the pot. Well, I do enjoy a good healthy discussion about values/ideas. And having someone who is able to articulate a contrary point of view in a respectful and thoughtful way is always a joy.
But believe me, being liberal - or having some liberal ideas - makes me about as comfortable as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I have had some very awkward exchanges due to my political beliefs, in settings that are very public and involving people who should have known better. I think perhaps I make them uncomfortable, too, so they respond to the unknown, to the disconcerting (a faithful, liberal Mormon is almost a contradiction in terms... but hey, at least I'm a white male, so they can relate to me on that level, right?)... I wonder about how I would be treated if I were a faithful, black, feminist woman.
I really do wonder. That would be quite enlightening.
Because people assume things about you based on the way you look. They also assume things about you based on your history. And on your skin color. And on your height. And on your professed religion. And on your gender attraction. And on your political affiliations.
I also frequently get castigated for my support of the University of Utah, but mostly that's just in fun.
So, like I said, I make people uncomfortable because I don't fit into their world view. I make them reconsider what they've believed. I have had people - several people - tell me that no good, upstanding member of the Church can be a Democrat. Which would be more offensive if it weren't so patently ludicrous. I know MANY good members of the Church who are Democrats. Many. Including my sweet mother. President James E. Faust was a life-long Democrat. That (obviously) didn't preclude him from being a good member of the Church. His talks are full of the kind of love and grace that are hallmarks of the Democratic party.
But that's not the point. There is no corner on the market for compassion. The ideals of grace and love do not belong to one political party or the other. Democrats do not want to create a nanny state, any more than Republicans want to generate Galt's Gulch. We live in a society where most of us are really in the middle somewhere. Some differences are more obvious than others, and some are just frankly more fun to discuss. But it is these differences that make us strong, in the way that different metals are added to an alloy to give some of those properties to the resulting product, which makes it stronger, more resilient, and more valuable.
Our differences do not define us, but they do serve to strengthen us.
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