(A note to my LDS friends who have been responding to this article:  The lack of obscenities is refreshing.  Perhaps you can be a bit more creative with your criticism than "Go Back to Mexico."  In any event, send me a ticket and I'll be on the first plane to Cabo San Lucas !  MDM)

 

An Open Letter to Members of the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

 

     Seminal moment…inflection point.  Points in time that may define you and the path you take in life.

     The presidential election of 2024 will be a seminal moment and an inflection point for the LDS church. Moreover, it will be a test of the credibility of church members in terms of professed values and moral culture.  Will the majority of LDS church members vote for Donald Trump?

     The Catholic Church had its credibility test and failed miserably.   The priest-sexual-abuse scandals gave the church the opportunity to live its faith, to adhere to its values but it did not do so. 

     Instead of acknowledging the reality of the sexual abuse visited on perhaps thousands           of Catholics, the church elected to ignore the abuse with a suspension of disbelief that defied common sense and common virtue.  The church suffered a blow to its credibility from which it has not fully recovered.

     LDS church leaders and church members, the 2024 presidential election is your credibility test.

     Will you support Mr. Trump, an individual so morally bereft that, were he a leader in your church he would have been driven from leadership?  Or will you live your faith by manifesting your unwillingness and inability to support a man who is antithetical to your religious beliefs?

     Those of you who support Trump have lost your way by looking the other way.    

     As Trump resorts to ugly name calling (Walz is a moron, Harris is mentally impaired) you look the other way.

     The “grab them by the p**y” video aired and it became apparent that Trump was an adulterer and philanderer, paying off porn stars and benefiting from a National Enquirer payoff to a Playboy model to buy her silence, yet you look the other way.

     A jury decided that Trump was guilty of sexual battery, and dozens of other women (Including Temple Taggart McDowell, former Miss Utah and descendant of Mormon Battalion member George Washington Taggart) have detailed Trump’s sexual misconduct, but you look the other way.

     Trump slanders entire races of people as “criminals” and “rapists, and reportedly called some foreign countries “sh*tholes  (something Trump denies…who to believe?)  but you look the other way.

     And Trump disparages an American military hero,  John McCain, a highly decorated former POW, but you look the other way.

     Trump has shown his mean-spiritedness and vindictiveness on multitudes of occasions but you still choose to ignore the facts as you look the other way. 

     My question to you, Latter Day Saints, is this: exactly what are you looking at when you “look the other way?”  You certainly aren’t looking in the mirror because if you were you’d see someone who was compromising LDS religious values, apparently for some perceived political gain.

     No matter how many times Trump invokes God’s name, how many times he holds up the Bible at a photo op or how many times he seeks your support, facts don’t change.  Trump is not a man of God.  He is not a man of faith.  And he has lived a life so morally challenged that your support of him defies belief.

     My message to you?  Donald Trump may be your credibility test.  And your support of this man may compromise whatever credibility you may have after generations of faith---at least in the eyes of those who view and appraise the church from the outside.

     You cannot be a true person of faith if you support Trump, if you condone his actions, if you minimize his behaviors. You cannot reasonably reconcile your support of him with your religious and moral beliefs.  It won’t be only non-Mormons who recoil at your hypocrisy if you support Trump.  Someday your children and grandchildren may confront you and your hypocrisy.

            For whom will you vote?  Abstain if you must.  But if you vote Trump you are no better than those Catholics who turned a blind eye to the crimes and transgressions of un-Christ-like priests.  And you will fail miserably, as did the Catholic Church, at seizing your credibility moment.

 

FOOTNOTE: I am not a member of the LDS church. But I lived among church members for a significant portion of my life, attending junior high and high school in Utah and attending the University of Utah for undergraduate and graduate school.  Many of my best friends during these times were members of the church.  And when I left Utah, I left with fond memories of the church, its virtue, its commitment to community. I have an investment in the church’s credibility.  But I’m having a difficult time reconciling a lifetime of positive perceptions of the church with the apparent widespread support of Trump within the LDS community.

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WWJD--WOULD JESUS

VOTE FOR TRUMP?

 

     Those who know me chuckled when they first saw me wearing a “What Would Jesus Do” T-shirt.  Right, this agnostic, with chapters of his life replete with (mild) depravity and debauchery, has found Jesus?

     They thought it was a joke.  And even after an earnest explanation that this was not a religious epiphany but more of a lifestyle choice, they still think it’s a joke.

     No matter. In the twilight of my life I no longer feel compelled to convince others of anything, much less of my belated attempt to right my life’s wrongs

     But let’s address the question:  Would Jesus vote for Trump?

     The answer is apparent whether or not you are a person of faith.  No, Jesus would not vote for Trump.  But then, Jesus wouldn’t vote for anyone.  Jesus is non-partisan and has much better things to do than support any political candidate.

     Seems silly that this question would even be voiced.  But recent pronouncements from many who claim to follow Jesus are even beyond silly.

     A person who claims to be a person of faith announces, on the evening news,  that Trump was sent by God.  I had to rewind the video.  Did I hear her right?

     Her words would have been more credible had she announced that God has visited a plague upon America in the form of Trump.  But no, apparently she really believes that God affixed little wings to Trump’s sizeable body and sent him to deliver us from Democrats!

     I suppose I shouldn’t have been startled.  I have great respect for many Evangelicals and other people of faith who actually live and adhere to their professed values.  But it has become ever more apparent that evangelical and other faith-based movements have been infested by charlatans, hypocrites and cult-like individuals whose “Christian” morality is a morality of convenience.

     Anyone who would suggest that any God would visit someone as morally bereft and un-Christian-like as Trump upon us as some type of savior, obviously suffers a morality of convenience.

     God would not choose as a savior someone who grabs women by the p**sy.  God would not choose as a savior someone who has violated many of the Ten Commandments.  God would not choose as a savior someone whose mouth drips with hatred.

     Okay, don’t take it from me.  Take it from scripture.

     Quoting scripture is almost as foreign to me as it is to Trump.  But I was able to find the following scripture that pretty much sums up why Trump lacks the qualifications to be anyone’s savior.

 

Proverbs 6:16

     “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

     Haughty eyes and a lying tongue?  A heart that devises wicked plans and feet that make haste to run to evil?  One who bears false witness and sows discord among others? 

     Sounds like the crafter of this proverb had Trump in mind.  Although “hands that shed innocent blood” may be a stretch, if he attains the presidency a second time Trump’s romance with Mass Murderer Putin and other world tyrants and dictators will make him complicit in the shedding of innocent blood.

     So, What Would Jesus Do when contending with people whose faith and morality twist in the winds of political expedience and gain?  He might not condemn them for worshipping false gods, as I have.   But I think he would recognize them as worshippers of false gods.   And point them to a path that is more consistent with his teachings.

 

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The Real Reason for Trump’s Disdain for Military Service

 

     Trump’s disdain for those who serve in the US military is puzzling.

     Of course Trump will deny that he has anything but admiration for the military and he’ll take any photo op available (the Arlington National cemetery brouhaha) to prove it.

     Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, however, has stated publicly that Trump has called those who answered the call to duty “suckers and losers.”  He also claimed that Trump expressed admiration for Hitler’s generals but not his own generals.

     Ok, Trump denies all of Kelly’s claims.  Who to believe--a politician who has been characterized as a pathological liar by many, or a former US Marine Corps General and rifle platoon commander who was Trump’s own former White House Chief of Staff and choice for Secretary of Homeland Security—a man who served America honorably in both military and civilian capacities.  You choose.

     But even if you choose to believe that Trump didn’t make those particular disparaging remarks, you cannot dispute that Trump disparaged one America’s greatest war heroes, Sen. John McCain. 

     McCain, a son and grandson of US Naval admirals and himself a US Naval Academy graduate flew bombing missions during the Vietnam war and endured years of torture as a POW after being shot down over Hanoi.  McCain received a multitude of military honors for gallantry, including the Purple Cross, the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross.  By any reasonable person’s definition, McCain was a war hero.

     But Trump is on record as saying that McCain was “not a war hero.” “He’s (only) a war hero because he was captured.  I like people who weren’t captured,” said Trump.  This inane and disparaging characterization of McCain appears, on the surface, puzzling.

     The fact that Trump was besmirching a person who wouldn’t kiss his ring was not surprising.  But it was a bit surprising that someone with Trump’s political ambitions and supposed political keen would attack a US war hero.  American politicians throughout American history have acknowledged the need to manifest support and admiration for those who served our country in uniform.  Was this just another example of Trump not being able to control his base, inner self?

     After giving it much thought I arrived at a conclusion.  No, Trump didn’t disparage McCain simply because he viewed McCain as a political rival.  It was that Trump envied what McCain had.  Something that Trump could never have.

     McCain had status as a war hero,  who served his country honorably in uniform and who earned an array military honors,  including the purple heart, the Silver Cross and the Disinguished Flying Cross.

     Trump, who dodged military service can never attain that status or grasp those honors.  That ship has sailed.

     Perhaps Trump is also mindful of the fact that two thirds of American presidents served in the military.  Perhaps he was aware that presidents from Teddy Roosevelt, to JFK to H.W.Bush received military honors.  Even disgraced president Richard Nixon , who served in the Navy, earned military awards.  Again, these honors and a status as a military hero are things that Trump can never claim.

     So, what does Trump do?   This man consumed with envy for those who served has chosen to diminish military service, focusing his envious ire on McCain, a true American military hero.

     His denigration of all things military hasn’t been confined to individuals who serve.  The awards bestowed on those who gallantly served have also been denigrated by Trump’s words and deeds. That he would suggest that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is in any respect a greater award than the Medal of Honor is inane and galling.

     The Medal of Honor has been awarded, often posthumously, to those who distinguished themselves by acts of valor.  The Presidential Medal of Freedom, on Trump’s watch, has been awarded to those who distinguished themselves by “acts of value” to Trump.

     President Ronald Reagan presented the presidential medal to Mother Teresa.  Trump handed out the award like party favors to partisan supporters, golfers and talk-show hosts.            

     And it’s no surprise that two Trump recipients, Rush Limbaugh and Jim Jordan didn’t serve in the military.  They as did Trump, received military deferments, Limbaugh receiving a medical deferment, not for a bone spur (a la Trump), but for a tailbone cyst.

     Finally…Trump has no concept of the phrase “military family.”  Those who made the military a career, and their families who followed them from duty station to duty station, understand that concept.  We treasure the “military family” even with all its societal flaws, in large part because honor in service to our country was ingrained into the military family. 

     We honor those who served.  We honor those whose gallantry earned them medals of valor.

     Insincere plaudits and a floral wreath at a military cemetery, while cameras are flashing, honors no one.              

 

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 J.D. Vance and his Political Lobotomy

                                                              

   So, vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance is the latest Republican to submit to a political lobotomy. 

     The Republican who once pronounced himself a “Never-Trumper” and who characterized Trump as a wannabe Hitler has undergone a transformation, a transformation that may be described as a “political lobotomy.”

     It’s sad for many reasons.  Vance has fallen from the slim ranks of Republicans with a modicum of integrity--Republicans who have manifested at least a bit of moral fortitude and have repudiated Trump the politician and Trump the person.

     And Vance’s transformation which played out in the media, with Vance performing verbal/moral gymnastics to justify his newfound love for Trump, was sad to watch.  It was like watching a flower wither and lose its allure in shudder-inducing stages.

     Although Vance is, perhaps, the poster boy for Republicans who have sacrificed their integrity on the altar of political ambition, and who have submitted to a political lobotomy, he has a lot of company.  Nikki Haley submitted to her political lobotomy at the Republican National Convention.

     The Mitch McConnells, Lindsay Grahams, Kevin McCarthys, and others who could be counted upon to manifest at least a modicum of character, a modicum of integrity, have in one way or another become enablers for the largest malignancy, Trump,  to ever infect America’s two-party system. 

     They have bought in to the scorched earth, win-at-all-costs mentality that Trump has imposed upon the Republican party.  Even if the cost is to not just cede the moral high ground but to leap from the moral high ground.  Even if the cost is to purge whatever semblance of integrity they retained.  These individuals have undergone at least a partial political lobotomy.

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 The Lack of Integrity index (LOI)

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     So, in order to facilitate identification of those who have undergone political lobotomies or partial political lobotomies, I’ve come up with a handy tool that I call the Lack of Integrity (LOI) index.  The scale on this index is 1-10, with 10 reflecting a total lack of integrity and 1 indicating a modest lack of integrity.  

     Donald Trump is, of course, a 10.  This man has rampaged through life as an entitled narcissist, wreaking damage to all he encounters with his despicable behaviors, and is completely devoid of integrity.

     Vance, after his political lobotomy, registers 9 on the LOI index.  Nikki Haley has moved from one end of the spectrum to the other, checking in as an 8.  For those of you who think that her past characterizations of Trump should earn her a lesser score, it is precisely her change in rhetoric which so blatantly reveals her desperate self-political-interest that earns her this score.

     The Rubios, DeSantis’, Burgums, Ramaswamys, Scotts’, Stefaniks, Taylor Greenes et al. reside in the 8-9 range.  Pence, McConnell and a handful of others who have fallen from favor with Trump and the “New Republicans” reside in the 1-5 range.

 

True Republicans versus New Republicans

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     Yes, “New Republicans.”  I’ve also coined a simple phrase to describe the dichotomy within the GOP-- The “New Republican” versus the “True Republican.”  This phrase is helpful when navigating the LOI index because by characterizing one as a New Republican you automatically understand that this person resides on the Trump side of the spectrum. 

     The True Republican resides on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Although the New Republicans are easy to identify—anyone who supports Trump—it’s a bit more difficult to identify the True Republican.  Certainly any Republican who adheres to what used to be Republican values, including respect for the Constitution and the placement of national interest above self-interest, is a True Republican. 

     And those, of course, who do not register on the LOI index--Romney, Collins, Murkowski, Cheney, John McCain, Kinsinger and a handful of others--or those who barely register on the LOI index, McConnell and Pence, for example, may be described as True Republicans.

     But True Republicans often may be difficult to identify. The never-Trumper who becomes the maybe-Trumper, for example.  And, pardon the clichés, politics make strange bedfellows, and politics are fluid.  A True Republican can become a New Republican in a heartbeat if he or she decides to put self-political-interest before the best interests of the country.

     So contact me if you wish to know if and where any Republican running for political office resides on the LOI index.  It could be a handy tool for Independents or even Democrats who have manifested a willingness to cross party lines and vote for a True Republican.

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Trump, Biden, Taylor Swift

And Other Existential Threats

To American Democracy

 

Everywhere you look these days there is a threat to American democracy lurking around the corner.  And not just a threat, but an existential threat—a threat to the very existence of American democracy.

 

Dems scream that Trump and his ennablers are a threat to American democracy.  Trump and Republicans shout that Biden and his cronies are a threat to American democracy. 

 

And in some basement, somewhere, a tinfoil-hat-clad troll at his laptop is telling anyone who’ll listen that Taylor Swift is a threat to American democracy!

 

Ok, stop.  Take a deep breath.

 

American democracy has been around for a long time and it will take much more than banana-Republicans or overreaching Democrats to threaten our democracy. 

 

The true threat to American democracy is our country’s two party political system.  A system that has morphed into a monstrous, win-at-all-costs game that Dems and Republicans play in earnest.

 

The goal for Dems and Republicans is to lie, cheat and even commit criminal acts if it ensures victory at the ballot box.  The instances of political candidates, on both sides of the political spectrum, using unethical, even criminal practices to gain office or remain in office are legion.

 

And loyalty and fealty to the party always takes precedence over the well-being of their constituents and the nation.  Both Dems and Republicans will excuse the excesses of their peers in Congress or their political candidates if it means victory in November.

 

We always knew that there was a possibility that a presidential candidate would emerge within Republican or Democrat ranks who was demonstrably unfit for office.  Not necessarily the insidious Manchurian Candidate, but perhaps someone devoid of integrity and with a history of unethical or borderline criminal acts.  And the dangling question was:  How will the the leaders of that political party react?

 

Dems gave a hint of how they might react when many Dem leaders were eager to give Clinton a pass for what they apparently felt were only peccadillos in that American shrine that is the White House.

 

And Republicans have now answered the question emphatically. 

 

Republicans have been tested to the limit by their 2024 presidential nominee and have failed the test miserably.  They haven’t summoned the moral turpitude and political courage necessary to reject a candidate who is obviously unfit for political office yet popular with the party fringe.

 

Instead, they did the political calculus and decided to embrace the hopefully-once-in-a-political-lifetime beast who may ultimately devour what little credibility remains within Republican ranks.

 

I don’t think that anyone can state with any certainty that, had the Democrats been faced with the same dilemma—an unfit candidate popular with a significant minority of the party—that they would have acted any different than the Republicans.  The desire to win at the ballot box may have eclipsed all else.  It was only fortuity for the Dems that Trump chose to check the “R” box instead of the “D” box.

 

So the true threat to American democracy (Putin’s threat to world democracies is a topic for another piece) is a two party system composed of partisans who will play the game to win at all costs, the country be damned.

 

The answer?  There is no easy answer.  Political reform, unfortunately, is contingent upon players who are willing to reform from within.  It seems that Republicans and Democrats alike only find their consciences, and their tongues, when they retire from office.

 

The obsessive self-interests of sitting legislators will usually doom comprehensive political reform.  But, in another article, I’ll offer modest suggestions for circumnavigating today’s win-at-all-costs Republicans and Democrats. 

`                                                               -30-

 

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