Politics is a load of hooey

It turns out that members of my church are not fans of President Obama, as evidenced by his 18% approval rating in our membership. The lowest approval rating for any faith organization. Which is fine, I guess. But what bothers me is the vitriol that I hear against him from my fellow members.

For a church that has experienced it's fair share of persecution based on hyperbole and half-truth, we sure seem ready to dish it out to others. There are three attitudes that I see on my side that really bother me.

FAILURE OF GOODWILL

John Gardner, the secretary of health, education, and welfare under Lyndon B. Johnson gave a good definition of political extremism:

"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: An excessively simple diagnosis of the world’s ills and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all... Blind belief in one’s cause and a low view of the morality of other Americans–these seem mild failings. But they are the soil in which ranker weeds take root... terrorism, and the deep, destructive cleavages that paralyze a society." (John Gardner, No Easy Victories)

From 2001 through 2008, I was really bothered by all of the obvious hatred that the left felt for GW Bush. To me it felt like they were right there with him leading up to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then as soon as things began to go south, they turned on him. And not just by way of disagreement or principle. It seemed to me that some of them took an almost devilish pleasure in calling him a liar and pointing out each little fault or stumble. They considered him too stupid to write a speech on his own, yet clever enough to trick them all into supporting his adventures in the middle east.

After President Obama was elected, I hoped that the right would take a higher road. That if my side disagreed with him, it would be for good policy, not because of a visceral dislike for the man. Nope. One of the first anti-Obama books that I saw was "the Obama Nation" by Jerome Corsi. Nice little play on words there, right? Obama-nation, abomination. Subtle. It reminded me of when some second-grade bullies at school thought it would be funny to call me "Contami-Nathan." Ha ha, never got old.

I was surprised at how quickly the far right was able to foment a distrust in and a hatred for President Obama. Not for his policies, but for him as a person. It was just like what the far left did to President Bush during his tenure. And what the right did to Clinton during his and the left did to Reagan during his and... do you see a pattern, here?

I'm all for political debate and disagreement, but doesn't this feel reminiscent of the anti-mormon attacks on Joseph Smith? Digging and prodding for any unsavory details while ignoring any good that he might have accomplished?

DISMISSING OPPOSING VIEWS AS INVALID

My dad gave me a recording several years ago by Hugh B. Brown. In the beginning, he addresses his audience of graduating BYU students with some political advice. "First, I’d like you to be reassured that the leaders of both major political parties in this land are men of integrity, and unquestioned patriotism. Beware of those who feel obliged to prove their own patriotism by calling into question the loyalty of others... Strive to develop a maturity of mind and emotion and a depth of spirit which will enable you to differ with others on matters of politics without calling into question the integrity of those with whom you differ. Allow within the bounds of your definition of religious orthodoxy variation of political belief... I’ve found by long experience that our two-party system is sound." (Hugh B. Brown, Profile of a Prophet)

I went into the Masters in Communication program at Eastern Washington University as a defender of the conservative faith. I often engaged with my professors and classmates in political debate. I emerged from my studies with my conservatism intact. But I had also gained a respect for my friends on the left that I didn't have before. I realized that they actually had many good arguments for their positions and that if I didn't see any validity to my opponents' point of view, then it really meant that I didn't understand that point of view very well.

PROPAGANDA AND THE RAH-RAH RIGHT

Talk radio. I ate this stuff up when I was in my twenties. All of the hosts are funny. It felt great to feel like I was part of a movement. To feel that there were millions of like-minded folks all over the country that were "in the know."

But in my thirties, I began to have a change of heart. One quote that President Hinckley gave has stuck with me. "Our generation is afflicted with critics in the media who think they do a great and clever thing in mercilessly attacking men and women in public office and in other positions of leadership. They are prone to take a line or a paragraph out of context and pursue their prey like a swarm of killer bees." Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something

I began to notice that most of the stories weren't about promoting the politics of the right but about denigrating the members of the left.

I also began to see how self-serving it all was for the talk show hosts. "Hey, i just came out with a new book. Hey, I'm coming to speak in your town. Hey, the democrats are attacking me again, they want to shut us down. Hey, I just hired a new private security guard- I'm really putting my life on the line to get this to you." Just a constant siege mentality. Always talking about broadcasting from bunkers and threats from our government (I know it's a joke, but really). The point is, the shows may be about politics, they may be about advancing the conservative agenda (whatever that is nowadays), they may have their sincere moments, but at their heart they are about promoting and sensationalizing the host.

I mostly listen to NPR now. Not because I agree with the politics of their hosts, but because I much prefer their tone of discussion and willingness to at least pretend to look at both sides of an issue.

So that's it. I'm not trying to change anyone's politics, but can we please be nice to each other?

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles

I have a friend at church who I think of as the grandfather of our ward. I admire him for his faith and knowledge of the gospel. I look forward to seeing his smile every week as he greets me. Today he asked me for an update on my life. He told me that he knows that I have had more miracles to share. So here goes.

This is a topic that has weighed heavily on me. I am so grateful for what God has done for me and my family. For the comfort He gave us during our ordeal. For the many friends He placed in our lives to love and support us. And yet, to be honest, it's hard to rejoice when I see so many others suffering through challenges of their own, where the outcome doesn't look as good. My sister-in-laws's dad is fighting ALS, a disease with no cure. Our families were friends as I was growing up, and I've known him since I was eight or so, and I know that it has been hard on her and her siblings to watch their father slowly degenerate.

Another family who was close to mine lost their mother several years back to cancer. She was almost like an aunt to me. She was a good, faithful member of the church and I know that it has been hard for her family to be without her.

I know of a young girl who lives close by who has been battling cancer and was just told that it has moved to her lungs and been given very little time to live. A friend of ours from Seattle recently finished his battle with cancer and passed on, leaving a young wife and daughter. My cousin is fighting leukemia (hang in there, Kent!)

I know that these are all good people who are certainly no less deserving of miracles than I. One thing I've realized though is that while I absolutely believe that my continued life is a miracle, it is not the real miracle. The real miracle is God's love for us. I know that we won't always have our prayers answered, at least not the way we might want them to be. But I also know that He loves us. I know it, because I have felt His presence with me. And although I am grateful to still be alive, I am even more grateful to know that He is really there and that He cares about me, my family, and all of us.

The Grateful (not to be) Dead

I went to a car show with my eight year old boy Derek yesterday. We had a lot of fun walking around and picking out favorite cars together. It always amazes me to see the obvious care and time that some people have put into their classic cars. Being an air-cooled VW aficionado, I was excited to see an old camper bus on display. The back window had several stickers in it, but one caught my eye. It looked like an old Grateful Dead sticker, but instead it read "Grateful to not be dead." I can relate!

I've been having a thought run around my head lately. It has to do with the classic Bible story about the 10 lepers. It's the one that we usually here in church when there is a lesson or talk that has to do with gratitude. In the story, Jesus heals ten people of their leprosy. Excited, they all run off to tell their friends and families the good news. Only one returns to express gratitude to the Savior. The moral of the story is that only this one showed gratitude for the miracle that occurred in his life.

But now that I think about it, I imagine that all ten lepers went home and felt gratitude towards the Savior for healing them. I imagine that every day for the rest of their lives they thought about what had been done for them. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that all of the lepers probably felt gratitude in their hearts. I think that the real difference is that the one leper stopped to actually express that gratitude. He did something with it by going back to the Saviour and thanking him. He showed his gratitude by his actions.

It's really easy for me to identify with those nine lepers. The rawness of the ordeal we've been through has started to fade. And yet, not a day goes by that I don't think about it. And we are still feeling the aftershocks of it in our family. I am grateful in my heart for the miracle that I'm still here. But I want to show that gratitude through my actions. I hope that I can.