Peculiar Indeed
A fellow Mormon with whom I am not acquainted recently responded to a friend's Facebook post with this assertion, "You cannot be a good Mormon and a Democrat." To his dismay, 17% of Mormons and I are, in fact, Democrats. What's more, I consider myself a progressive. Indeed, this deepens my peculiarity to consider myself a progressive Mormon, but I am also an educated American citizen with well thought out social and spiritual values. Presidential elections are always emotional times for the country. The past couple of years have been especially impassioned for me and the Mormon community as Mitt Romney, a fellow Mormon, has waged his candidacy for President.
I built this website for the Mormon community who hold the erroneous sentiment that good Mormons cannot be Democrats, as well as for my liberal friends who think the term "progressive Mormon" is an oxymoron. It also serves as a effort sharpen the contrast between the views, values, and performance of Republicans and Democrats in recent years. My hope is that my Mormon friends do not vote for Mitt Romney simply because he is a Mormon, but because they have considered their priorities, values, and have researched some of the important issues in order to understand what is at stake.
I am not an economist, a political scientist, or an activist of any kind, but like my religious beliefs, I know precisely why I subscribe to the positions I passionately hold. I try to cut through the cacophony of the contentious U.S. political environment in order to ground my thought processes with facts, data, and evidence. My intention for sharing this website is not to offend my conservative friends, but to simply shift the monologue in my head to an open, sharable space.
I would like to clarify here that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains complete political neutrality and does not endorse any political parties or candidates, including Mitt Romney. Likewise, the views I express on this website are purely my own and are in no way endorsed by the Mormon Church.
The Church's official statement reads:
"Principles compatible with the gospel are found in the platforms of ALL major political parties. While the Church does not endorse political candidates, platforms, or parties, members are urged to be full participants in political, governmental, and community affairs." (emphasis added)
So, with this statement, I take courage in sharing some of my thoughts about the election and the state of the nation, as well as immersing myself in the political process. I cannot sit back and be apathetic, and with the utmost respect, I intend to stand for what I believe in.
All are welcome to disagree. This is part of a healthy educational process, however, I encourage an honest and open dialogue. In contrast to a debate where a winner is expected, a dialogue allows for tacit thoughts to be expressed freely without the risk of ridicule or judgement. With this, I extend a call for respect and understanding to both Mormons and non-Mormons alike, and I invite an engaged dialogue about the importance of these issues.