THE “ISM” DISEASE

Mitt Romney give a speech in Texas to right-wing Christian conservative in which he discussed how he perceives the relationship between the religious and the political; moreover, how he sees his "Mormonism" intersecting with his presidency if he is elected to the presidency.

Mormonism! When I was in graduate school at the Johns Hopkins University I had a classmate whose surname was Kursvitis. He joked that his name sounded like it was a disease. Well, that's the same image many people have in their mind when they hear the term "Mormonism" - a disease - if not a physical one than certainly a disease of the mind and spirit.

But what part of "Mormonism" is diseased? Is it the "Mormon" or is it the "ism"? Unfortunately, people who have not been taught critical thinking skills or who are content to wallow in their ignorance and prejudice make no such distinction. To them "Mormonism" conjures up the false prophet Joseph Smith whose prophesy is a priori false because it is not Trinitarian and therefore is "un-Christian." It conjures up a fierce looking Brigham Young surrounded by his many wives brandishing a Book of Mormon in one hand and a rifle in the other. It conjures up the image of Warren Jeffs forcing teenage girls into a loveless marriage with men old enough to be their father or grandfather thus subjecting them to be their sex slaves repeatedly raped at the pleasure of these presumed perverts. It conjures up images of Mormon "faith beliefs" that are straight out of a Stephen King novel or Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" complete with the "do do do do, do do do do, ..." theme song playing in their ear.

This of course is the problem. The problem is that in 21st century America it is easy, even lauded, to wallow in one's ignorance and prejudice without the ability to apply critical thinking skills to not only the great questions and issues of our age but also to everyday life as long as what one believes falls within the preview of thumping the biblically inerrant Bible or bowing down to so called Natural Law wrapped in the flag of patriotism. This is the conundrum wrapped in an enigma that is today's America.

The problem is that while we have "dumb downed" the education our children have received over the past generation at the same time we have elevated the "isims" of ignorance and prejudice to the status of deity. In no other aspect of American culture have we succeeded as well in this elevation as we have regarding matters of religion. Our national debate has become poisoned by the purveyors of orthodoxy who hold that their faith beliefs and understanding of God and God’s Will are the only ones that truly reflect both God and the Will of God. Moreover, they have the hubris to believe that they have the right to impose their faith beliefs and understanding of God on all Americans regardless of whether or not other Americans reject their faith beliefs and understanding of God and the Will of God.

It is this hubris perpetrated by America's Radical Religious-Right that is radical but not particularly religious and certainly not right, both Evangelicals and conservative Roman Catholics, that have hijacked both Christianity and America that Mr. Romney addressed. The disease Mr. Romney addressed is not being a Mormon or Mormonism as these are not diseases. The disease Mr. Romney addressed is the disease of conservative Christianity. It is the disease of the ABSOLUTE-ISM of their faith beliefs and understanding of God and God's Will that does not accept or allow room for the faith beliefs, understanding of God and God's Will different from their own, does not accept that one may have an informed conscience different from their own, and does not accept reciprocity of conscience.

However even if Mr. Romney is able to articulate the intricacies of his faith beliefs, his understanding of God and God's Will, and does so in a manner that clearly places him, his beliefs, and vision of God under the banner of Christianity that is not in conflict with carrying out the oath he will take if elected to the presidency, I seriously doubt the result will be a change of mind or heart on the part of those who proclaim they could never vote for a Mormon. Even Mr. Romney, as articulate as he may be, cannot make up for critical thinking skills that were never taught and are thus as incomprehensible to those who suffer from their lack as is one of Stephen King's slashers or Rod Serling's space aliens.