DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER

I am climbing onto my soap box. Now I am standing on the top of my soap box. And I am getting to ready to speak from my soap box.

DISCLAIMER: Anyone reading from this point on has been warned.

As Latter-Day Saints in the United States of American, we are extremely patriotic. We serve in the military, we vote, we get involved in politics, we express our opinions - rather loudly at times, I must admit.

However, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints "has emphasized its political neutrality." Elder Ballard (stated) "We have members in the Church of all political persuasions... We encourage our people to get involved, to participate in party politics, to vote. But which party and which candidates are matters for them to decide."

The Church also states its members are expected to "respect the fact that members of the Church come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and may have differences of opinion in partisan political matters."  Even "elected officials who are Latter-day Saints make their own decisions and may not necessarily be in agreement with one another or even with a publicly stated Church position.... these officials still must make their own choices based on their best judgment and with consideration of the constituencies whom they were elected to represent. "

So WHY OH WHY then do loving, extremely well-intentioned and educated members continue to insist in church meetings/lessons/announcements that:

1. All good, faithful Mormons of course are aghast (isn't that a cool word? It sounds aghast. It's from the 3th century, obsolete use of agast as "frighten" and the Old English gāst "spirit, ghost) (okay, back to the ranting now) that the "liberals" are running and ruining the country.

2. We must "get back to our roots, to the basic ideas of the founding fathers."

Listen, I hate to remind you of this, but our founding fathers threw a REVOLUTION (defined as "a sudden, radical, or complete change in political organization - the overthrow or renunciation of one government and the substitution of another"), which is about the furthest from the average day-to-day Mormon you can find in the U.S.

I won't get into the average age of the 'framers of the Constitution', what happened to 79% of them after they signed it, and how all of this means that God has his hand in U.S. politics and is guiding this land...

Except, of course, when He isn't, such as when there is a (GASP!) Democratic majority in D.C.

Begging your pardon, although I am proud to be an American, and think this is a lovely country, I do not believe that, however inspired and good the originators of our means of government, they created the one, infallible and everlasting regime that will usher in the Kingdom come.

The design of our republic (and yes, it is a republic, not a democracy) is intended to encompass the inevitable and necessary change of a new and growing country -- and it's continued growth and development.

We aren't to return to our nation's embryonic state - it wasn't meant or designed for that.

Okay.

I am now stepping down from my soap box.

Thank you for your attention.

AUTHOR OR ANNOYANCE?

I have always loved writing, but I think it is mainly because I do so badly at articulating my thoughts.

Although that has never stopped me from expressing my opinion, I must admit.

The only reason this blog has had over 600 entries (wow, 600... isn't that just a little bit scary?) is because I can pound out one random bit of lunacy and easily follow it up with 527 more words.

Wow - that's even more frightening.

Anyway, we have one little local paper for our county. Our whole county, which is slightly larger than the state of Delaware.


And I live in Arizona, which is the state that elected Barry Goldwater and John McCain (although it also carried Bill Clinton in 1996 - funny, eh?) - yes, you can call us red.

So the majority of public opinion expressed around here is a little bit right of center of right... on the right-handed side on that. And then even more a little bit to the right.


But only occasionally does something written in the newspaper make my make-your-opinion-known-through-a-letter-to-the-editor twitch and spasm.

Tonight was one of those, however.

And although it is certainly due to the small population which this particular newspaper reaches, my letters always seem to get published.


Does that count as being a published author? I mean, this letter and the classified ad I placed for my cat together - do you think I can add that to my resume now?

HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE TRUCK?

Some people think a big truck says something.

And I have to assume in Arizona, at least, it must be something western, cowboyish, male and not, er, the  inadequate phallus that comes to my mind when the truck is jacked up seven feet, had four doors and a "MCCAIN/PALIN" sticker in the window (besides, wasn't that race decided about a year ago?)

But there is one thing about a truck which  makes everyone smile.

A dog in one.

I don't know if it is the goofy grin on the dog's face, the nose pointed into the airflow, or just the fact that is a dog.

But it does make fellow motorists smile.