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January 31, 2006
Really, I Try To Ignore This Stuff
Regular visitors of this here site know how much I love to read Letters to the Editor in newspapers. I feel that these letters are the voice of the people and the pulse of what is really happening down in the trenches. It's my morning ritual, my cup of coffee if you will. Sometimes I laugh while other times I pound my head and fists on the desk and sigh with frustration.
In today's Deseret Morning News I read this:
BYU professors lean left? Sad
It was a total disappointment to me to learn there are professors at BYU who have fallen into the liberal foolishness, asserting that President Bush somehow was involved in the rotten terrorist activity that produced the 9/11 tragedy.
There seem to be more liberal-leaning knotheads infesting our great nation than I had even imagined. I wasn't surprised Sens. Kennedy, Clinton and Rep. Pelosi, together with Barbra Streisand, Michael Moore and George Clooney are radically left-leaning; but to learn that otherwise intelligent, educated men like BYU professors lean that direction was a surprise. How sad.
Russell Bender
Nephi
Now, one of my biggest frustrations is when my fellow Latter-day Saints feel that in order to be a Mormon in good standing that you must believe that the Republican Party is divinely inspired. Somehow culturally this belief rings true especially here in Utah. Sadly, critics of the Church love to rally around this large falsehood as the recent follies of Larry Miller v. Brokeback Mountain have shown.
I understand that nowhere in Mr. Bender's letter did he make mention that he is LDS though I don't think that it's much of a stretch to make that assumption. He is reacting to this story, which I found rather interesting.
This whole issue is way too complex and I'm not smart enough or have time enough to give it the attention that I feel it deserves. The Salt Lake Tribune recently ran this article which is an interesting take on LDS political culture in Utah.
I dunno...sometimes I feel like the lighthouse keeper as a number of my politically liberal friends have left the Church over the years. Though I have to admit that I have found many like-minded people who swing to the left and remain faithful to the cause. My life has always been filled with a sense of polarity as I am seen as extremely liberal to many LDS people, while people on the left are shocked that I am LDS. I guess that somewhere in this mix is my life's mission, one of bridging the gap and doing my best to break down stereotypes and misconceptions.
When I lived in San Francisco I had the good fortune of playing in a couple of bands with guitar genius Joe Gore. Joe has credentials that read like a list of who's who in cooldom: PJ Harvey, Tom Waits and The Eels among many others. We became good friends over the years as we worked and travelled a lot. It was fun watching Joe dance around my religion at times. Though we never openly discussed it, I think that Joe had a typical perception of what Mormons were all about.
One of my favorite conversations with Joe was when he invited me to be in his band, Action Plus. We were between sound check and show time at the Elbo Room with our other band Oranj Symphonette and were seated at a table in the back of the club chatting away about the direction of this new band. Then Joe got all serious on me and said, "Pat, I just want you to know that some of the members of the band are lesbian or bi-sexual, and I want to know if that presents a problem for you." I sat back in my chair and replied, "Well Joe, does anyone care that I'm a Mormon?" Then Joe got this perplexed look on his face and said, "I don't know. I didn't think to ask." I caught his eye and then we started laughing and I said, "Joe, I'm grateful that you respect me enough to ask, but I have to confess that I really don't care."
This conversation personifies my life as I know it. I love it and wouldn't ask for another.
Posted by patatomic at January 31, 2006 11:21 AM
Comments
Oh yes, those lefty BYU professors. Always trying to warp the minds of innocent young ones. Nothing but trouble.
Oh yes, those crafty Action+ lesbians. Always trying to recruit more women to their deviant (but quite sexy) ways. And always trying to wear underwear on stage.
Oh yes, Pat Campbell. Always trying to... uh... tell us how cute his kid is. Nothing but trouble.
Posted by: Fat Matt at January 31, 2006 01:00 PM
Ugh, tell me about it. I grew up in Portland, Oregon, a very liberal town, and got so tired of people finding out I was LDS that I eventually avoided the topic all together. It was nice at first to have friends call me the "cool Mormon," but it just got so old. I sometimes think it'd be easier to turn off and listen to Janice Kapp Perry and vote Republican every time. You're an inspiration. And a far, far cooler Mormon than me :).
Posted by: natalucci at February 2, 2006 01:07 PM
NEVER EVER NEVER NEVER NEVER give in to the mediocre that is Janice "Crap" Perry.
Posted by: patatomic at February 2, 2006 01:49 PM
Found you via Dooce- and have to say that I feel the same way as just a regular old evangelical Christian. My liberal friends are like "Oh, you're a cool Christian," and my Christian friends are like "You're borderline for us to even consider you being a member of our church." I kind of like being the "cool Christian" but at the same time, it's frustrating to have to constantly defend what you are as not being completely evil ;)
Posted by: Beth at February 2, 2006 03:14 PM
And here I thought *I* was the cool Mormon from Portland...
Posted by: Eric D. Dixon at February 2, 2006 09:13 PM
One of my heroes, Lowell Bennion, gave a talk, reprinted in Best of Lowell L. Bennion, called “The Role of a Liberal in Religion.” For some background, he was a completely service-oriented guy. Lots of works. AND he was director of the U of U Institute, before being asked to resign for some of his "methods."
You don't have to agree with it all, but you can read it for yourself at http://home.uchicago.edu/~spackman/readings/The_Weightier_Matters.pdf
You've gotta scroll down a bit. But it's an interesting read.
Posted by: Paul at February 6, 2006 11:10 AM
If Christ lived in the U.S. today it seems most likely that he would avoid party affiliation all together. If anything, he would be a socialist. Too much elitism in the Republican party, too many loose morals in the Democratic party. And, I'm 100% convinced that he wouldn't be unilaterally and arrogantly bombing other countries using made-up excuses. He'd probably be hangin with the same folk that we scoff at when we step around them on the sidewalk.
Posted by: Scott Lunt at February 27, 2006 08:01 PM