COLUMN: A Mormon democrat not an oxymoron
These days it seems that any type of anti-Kerry propaganda gets thrown my way. It’s not that I support John Kerry, so much as it is that I just enjoy playing the devil’s advocate (not that Kerry is the devil, though some would appreciate such a comparison).
Just this week, I got an e-mail from a friend. He essentially said that as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was my duty to vote for George Bush.
I guess I missed that announcement last Sunday.
Most of the time, I take such comments with a grain of salt. At other times, those close to me think I might turn into salt, a la Lot’s wife, if I continue advocating Democrats.
But I just can’t help but think, you know, Mormons can be Democrats too.
I wish to dispel a myth that oft-times surfaces that to be a good Mormon, one must be a good Republican. In so writing, I do not wish to imply that the Mormon Church supports the Democratic Party either.
Indeed, the official statement released each election year with little variation and read from each Latter Day Saint pulpit says, “In this election year, we reaffirm the Church’s long-standing policy of political neutrality. The Church does not endorse any political party, political platform, or candidate.”
Such a position is often repeated, but I fear some would rather follow Simon and Garfunkel’s suggestion that man “hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”
Personally, I think some Republican policies better reflect church policy, while others are perhaps best represented by Democrats. In discussing such policies, I wish to avoid broad generalizations often used for both parties.
No, Democrats are not communists, and Republicans are not Levites walking on the other side of every beaten man they pass.
But, as a general rule, Republicans tend to be more focused on a laissez-faire type economy, while Democrats claim that the poor and disadvantaged ought to be given an equal opportunity. Some would argue that the Democratic ideal is closer to Christian doctrine. After all, it was class distinction that helped prove the eventual demise of the entire Book of Mormon civilization.
At the same time, the backlash to governmentally-aided programs as of late has resulted from reported waste in the welfare system. Some might say that because Mormon doctrine shuns idleness, it thus supports the Republican “hands-off” approach.
In regards to foreign policy, multiple battles throughout the Bible and Book and Mormon would indicate that war can be necessary under certain circumstances. Democrats could argue that church doctrine teaches that the military should only be used to fight defensively, but never offensively. But, Republicans could counter that a nation having been liberated would agree with the Mormon ideal that every human is entitled to such freedom.
And of course, one of the more publicized issues most recently is social policy, the two rallying points from the conservative right being gay marriage and abortion.
Indeed, these moral issues are essentially the only ones on which the church has come out and openly taken a stance as of late. As their news release states, “As a doctrinal principle, based on sacred scripture, we affirm that marriage between a man and a woman is essential to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” Such a position from the church gives little room for debate. Granted, not all Democrats jump on the pro-choice, gay marriage bandwagon (i.e. Jim Matheson), but many do.
Other issues divide the parties and deserve attention, but perhaps the best advice is found in the same state released by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also read from the pulpit.
The Mormon Church invites all of its members to “study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully and then vote for those they believe will most nearly carry out their ideas of good government.”
I think, Mormon or not, Republican or Democrat, it’s sound counsel to follow.
Jon Cox is a junior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to jcox@cc.usu.edu.