America That Was

A few years ago, my son (14) and I watched the mini-series "11/22/63".  In the story, James Franco goes back in time in an attempt to stop the Kennedy assassination.

There are a number of scenes that depict the racism and sexism of the time.  In one instance, a black woman runs out of gas and walks 12 blocks to a service station.  The attendant refuses to service her and points her to a station a mile away that will serve "her kind".

My son was taken aback by these scenes.  He could not wrap his head around such blatant inhumanity.

It reminded me of a conversation he and I had a few years earlier.  Utah's 10th court was deciding whether gay marriage would be allowed in our state.  There was a leader from the LDS church on the radio stating why the church stood against gay marriage.  My son was concerned about how this would affect friends of ours who had been married in a state that honored gay marriages.  He asked me, "What does the church want?  For them to get a divorce?"

I envy the clarity and openness my children have on these issues.  I did not start to work on things like equality until I was in my 30s.  Even now, approaching 50, I find I am still digging out roots of bad thinking.  For my kids, seeing clearer on issues of race, gender, and equality seems so much more second nature.

My kids give me hope for a better future.  We will need it because many Americans have forgotten where we came from.  They seem eager to undo our progress and send us back to a time when it was acceptable to point to a sign and say, "We don't serve your kind here!"

 

My Journey to Atheism - Part 2

Here is part 2 of my discussion with my brother about leaving the faith. We talk about why I couldn't stop at Agnosticism and what effect this all had on my family. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, you can find it here:  Part 1

My Journey to Atheism - Part 1

I want to recommend to you my brother's podcast. Steve is a Christian believer whose faith journey has led him to ... more open pastures ... in the past half dozen years. Steve and I have both gone through a lot of changes over our decades as brothers, but no matter where we were politically, philosophically, or religiously, we have always managed to have excellent dialogue. One reason is because Steve, at his core, is a great conversationalist and that really comes through in the podcast. Be it discussions of faith, stories from his month long walk on the Camino de Santiago, or opinions about the latest Star Wars movie, his new podcast has proven to be a worthy listen on my list.

In his latest episode, Steve interviews me about my journey from a life of faith to atheism. We talk about Hell theology, life among the Mormons, and how Evangelicals respond to diversity.  We had a great conversation, in fact, it lasted over 2 hours. So Steve split it in half and this is part one. Enjoy!

The Modesty Police Are Barking Up The Wrong Tree

I saw the following picture this morning.  It accompanied an article on the PRI regarding Saudi women registering to vote for the first time.

Although it was an interesting and worthwhile article, the picture caught me for a completely different reason.

In Utah, there is this misguided notion among "modesty" minded folks that, if we can just cover up women - make sure their dresses are long enough, cover the cleavage, spare the boys those sinful shoulders - we can somehow get our poor males to behave themselves.

I love the PRI picture, because it calls bullshit on that whole premise. Obviously, the dress choices of the ladies does not change a darn thing...

Swearing As A Moral Issue

This morning the Deseret News, one of Salt Lake's two primary newspapers, ran an opinion piece about the Book of Mormon musical. Being what and where it is, this musical is getting a little more press attention than is typically the case.

The piece hit a nerve with me and prompted me to write about an idea that has been spinning in my head for a while. The title of the article was "Profanity laced productions demonstrate society's moral decline."

If you spend any time with believers, particular of the more conservative stripe, they will let you know that they don't like swearing. If you spend time with such people regularly, they will let you know about their distaste for swearing... regularly.

In fact, similar to the title on the article, they will often articulate something beyond mere distaste. A moral element will become attached. Swearing is not just distasteful, it is immoral.

This is a common religious drum to beat and yet, even while I was still a believer, something struck me as disingenuous about all of the purity proclamations regarding words. How could a word be so encrusted with... evil?

I remember the first time I realized that there might be something amiss about all of the preening that goes on in religious circles concerning swear words. I was 16 and spending a number of weeks backpacking in Israel. A Bedouin chief was giving a friend of mine and I a tour through the Negev desert on camel back. The chief spoke at least 7 languages that I knew of.

My camel and I were alongside the chief when nature called. I said to him, "Hey, can we stop? I gotta go." He looked at me quizzically. "I have to go to the bathroom," I amended. He cocked his head a little more to the side, trying to interpret my meaning.

"He has to take a shit!" my friend called from behind us.

The chieftain's eyes lit with understanding and he smiled. "Oh yes! Sheet! We stop!"

I reflected later that, contrary to what my religious community taught me, my friend had done nothing immoral, neither had the chief. "Shit" was just a word.... nothing more. Any negative values were our associations, but there was nothing inherently moral or immoral about the word.

So then, why does the issue of swearing garner such attention and bluster among religious folks? Why do they try to make it a MORAL issue?

My family and I recently made the trip back to Michigan to visit all of our relatives. Most of these folks are Christian but in the past few years I find myself in Christian circles less and less. One thing that really stood out to me was how much the issue of swearing came up. I was constantly being informed that they don't swear, they don't like entertainment that swears, and they don't like to socialize with people that swear. Spend anytime with a religious conservative, and they will let you know that they don't swear.

Why?

My theory is that one can get a lot of piety points on this issue with very little cost. In fact, no cost. If you are going to resist poverty, or not gossip, or love your enemy... there is going to be some work involved. It will cost you. To make a fuss about swearing costs nothing, and yet it lets the religious person get a sense that they have made a moral step up.

Moving out of faith has shown me that this maneuver is a farce. Religion encourages the believer to develop many contrived moral positions. As an atheist, I have come to realize that true moral foundations are built on harm and help. Does an action harm others? Does an action help others? Swearing affects neither of these questions. It is a question of mores' not of morals.

Yet, the writer of the Deseret News opinion piece has convinced himself that he is making a moral statement when he announces his aversion to swearing. He isn't. He is just taking his place alongside scores of religious figures, both present and historical, who have learned to speak fluent religion on a topic that changes nothing.

Or, as St. Paul observed, he has learned to bang the gong and clang the cymbal.

"Ya Gotta Believe Something, Right?"

Last week, I was using public transit to get to work. Occasionally, one gets a chatty bus driver. During our conversation it came up that I am originally from Detroit, which brought the usual question:

"What brought you out here to Salt Lake?"

I try to avoid that question, but often there is no getting around it. People want to know. The problem is, it is a lot to tell in a short duration, but I have worked it out:

"I came out here to help start an evangelical church. However, we parted ways when I started to lose my faith, and I am now an atheist."

I get varied responses to this declaration, but his was the most common:

"Oh...... I'm sorry....."

The bus driver then began to fill me in on his spiritual journey. He was raised in a Mormon household, went on a mission, but he doesn't really practice anymore.

"I'm still a member. I guess I still believe. So... I suppose I am what they call a Jack-Mormon".

As you know, or probably have guessed, a Jack-Mormon is the term for Mormons who are not active in their faith. They are still part of the culture, perhaps attend church for baptisms and other ceremonies occasionally. But for all intent and purposes, they are fairly disconnected.

For the few minutes remaining in our trip, he stayed on religion. He told me about various family members who had turned away from faith but came back. How, at some point, he wants to start attending church more.

He was still talking when we came to my stop and the bus pulled to the curb. I thanked him for the lift and stepped off the bus. He called out one parting comment:

"I mean hey.... ya gotta believe something, right?"

I turned back and smiled:

"No..... you really don't."

And the bus pulled away.

The "ya gotta believe something" line is a refrain I often hear from nominal believers. For all practical purposes my bus driver doesn't believe. If he believed his faith he would be doing what his faith wants him to do: attend church, study his scriptures, tithe, seek converts, etc.  He does none of that, yet he still "believes".  Why is that?

My suspicion is that the cost is too high socially. It is a battle with family, friends, co-workers, (and himself), that he is simply not interested in engaging. "Ya gotta believe something" is simply the path of least resistance.

Ten years or so from now, I believe folks like the bus driver will easily accept a position of atheism. Right now the social stress is simply not worth it... but that is changing. For all of the growth unbelief has seen in the past decade, it's biggest blossoming is still ahead. As social acceptability of unbelief grows, a lot of people like my bus driver are going to recognize their lack of engagement for what it really is - a lack of belief.

Rather than feeling they HAVE to believe something, they will recognize... no, you really don't.

Facebook Faith #47 Bill Burr and Curling

"Non-theists already have a good idea that they are wrong and don't care.... "

I was in a Facebook discussion recently where a believing gentleman said the above quote. It kind of shocked me, because I had never heard a believer really articulate that to a non-believer.

As a believer, I had heard similar things said within our own circles. Whether spoken aloud or not, we all believed that those of outside faiths, or no faith, really - deep down - knew they were wrong. They just clung to their ideas out of arrogance or rebellion. In their pride, they would never admit that we were right. I think that was why the notion of Hell didn't bother us too much. They really were choosing Hell, and in the end we would finally be proven right!

Those thoughts fell apart for me as I began to get to know my Mormon neighbors after moving out to Salt Lake City. Listening to their stories and hearing their hearts, I could not deny that they believed their stories as sincerely as we did ours.

So... if I believe my stories to be true... and they believe their stories to be true... and we both have stories of transformation and redemption occurring in the lives of people... maybe... maybe transformation is not a holy thing... but a human thing...

and... here I am.

This was brought to mind this morning as I watched the comedian Bill Burr, talk about his exit from faith. In his case, he realized thinking the stories of other religions absurd, might apply to his stories as well. I particularly relate to his analogy of how he "let go" of religion.... spot on!

Teachers, Guns, and Toilets

I live in the Salt Lake County. I used to live in Macomb County, Michigan. In my 36 years there, I can not think of an instance where anything there made national news.

However, here in Salt Lake County, every few months something a few minutes from my home seems to be plastered all over CNN. Sometimes good, more often bad, and occasionally just plain moronic.

This week was a particular facepalm for me because it involved a teacher. In fact, it is disturbing how many stories come out about Utah teachers behaving badly.  My theory on why Utah gets the high distribution of dimwitted teachers is this: Utah has THE lowest per pupil spending in America. We are even lower than the territory of Puerto Rico. In addition, we also have a legislature that is completely hostile to teachers. So combine low pay with often less than quality working conditions... and the pool of applicants gets thin.  We have some amazing teachers, I work with some of the best, but Utah also scrapes the bottom of the barrel to fill classrooms. As such, you would be hard pressed to find in other states the kind of bizarre behavior you occasionally find here in Utah.

Utah is a Right-Wing reactionary state.  Back when the Sandy Hook situation went down, our legislature decided that teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons in school. So with 3 hours of instruction, and a couple hundred dollars spent at Walmart, a teacher could now have their six shooter join them in class time with the kiddies.

Why three hours of class time is simply not sufficient should be apparent... but again, we are a Right-Wing state and ideology often trumps reality. Let me step into another context to demonstrate. I am presently helping my 16 year old daughter learn to drive. I had forgotten that driving is actually a very complex venture. Watching my daughter try to multitask all of the varied inputs brings a fresh perspective. As a new driver, she over-reacts and under-reacts. She needs me there to help her multi-task, interpret the inputs, tell her when to turn, slow down, speed up, etc. If I were to let her drive now without guidance, she would most likely be in a fender-bender or worse within the week. She is wicked clever and sharp as a tack - she does not lack intelligence or capability. She just needs supervised experience in these early stages.

Think of that in reference to guns. I bet if I talked to a cop or a person in the armed services, they would describe to me the myriad of hours spent on becoming proficient with a gun. Training upon training. Compare that to three hours of community classwork, afterwhich you get to carry a concealed weapon. Like the new driver, someone new with a gun is going to be a hazard to everyone around them. Why do we think allowing such a person to carry a gun in school is a good idea?

I am sure our CCW teacher, who made national news this week, carried her gun with good intentions. Pumped up with NRA slogans like, "The only thing that stops a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun!" she probably day-dreamed of saving all of her students from the bad guy.

Instead, she blew apart a toilet when going to the bathroom, and was sent to the hospital with porcelain fragments. What happened to her was pure math... and as a school teacher she should have known this. It was always statistically much more likely that she would shoot herself, a child, or some other bystander than take out a bad guy.

Math happens.

There is a great scene in the movie Glory where Matthew Broderick's character is commanding the first black soldiers in the Civil War. The men and their Sergeant are commending themselves at what good shots they are with their guns. Broderick demonstrates that being a good shot has nothing to do with combat. He pulls aside one of the men and tells him to reload his weapon. As the soldier attempts to re-load, Broderick screams at him to load and fire faster, while firing a pistol repeatedly near the soldier's ear. The man's hands shake so violently, he can no longer hold his weapon. (Scoot ahead to one minute thirty three seconds).



It is political childishness and conceit that allows Utah to think that anyone without police or military training should be allowed to carry a gun in our schools.

A Thought While Driving Through Arizona

This past weekend my family and I drove down to Phoenix to attend an ASU Origins event. It was a wonderful weekend of science and family time.

Coming from Utah, I started to notice a shift as we moved into Arizona. Unlike many of the states in the Union, Utah does not have a church on every corner. Oh, we have plenty of Mormon wards, but it is not the same.

For one thing, Mormon wards host multiple congregations, and those congregations are set by geography, so they are placed with space between. Also, Mormon wards are often tucked away in neighborhoods, viewable to none but the residents.

As we drove through Arizona towns, the "loudness" of the churches was noticeable to my wife and me. Christianity is a very consumeristic religion compared to Mormonism. Unlike the wards, Christian churches are not bound by geography. Christians may attend a church across town, or the one up the road, depending on what is being offered. Churches are competing for butts in seats, so advertising banners and flashy signs adorned the properties of these houses of worship. The last thing any of these churches would want is to be tucked into a neighborhood somewhere, unseen.

Therefore, it was not uncommon to see a church on each corner of an intersection, letting potential consumers know what spiritual wares were available if they would just step inside. Coffee shops, bookstores, concert stages, sports facilities... give our church a try - we can be your Sunday home.

As we headed back to Utah, after an amazing science filled weekend,  I couldn't help but be morose as I once again drove past all of these religious buildings, where money poured in weekly to accomplish... basically nothing.

Contemplate how much money our world spends on religion each year! Imagine where we would be, think of what we could accomplish, if all of the money our planet annually invests in faith were redirected to science and education.

Instead, billions of people are pouring large chunks of their finances onto roulette tables of superstition, hoping they are placing the right bet on their eternal destiny.

Facebook Faith #10 - What's Good for the Goose...

Accepting the reality of this picture was one of the key items that drove me from my faith.  I grew up in evangelical environments where ours was the dominate religious influence.  When I moved out to Salt Lake City 9 years ago, I had quite an education in what it was like to be a religious minority.

One of the things that struck me is that Evangelicals out here often rolled their eyes at Mormonism, incredulous that Mormons could "believe all that crazy stuff". Mormon practices, scriptures, and beliefs were often snickered at by my Evangelical friends.

Since I had developed so many friendships with Mormons, I found myself getting defensive on their behalf. I didn't believe Mormon theology, but I was becoming annoyed at the behavior of my Christian friends towards Mormons. Somewhere in that process of annoyance, the groundwork was laid for me to look at my own practices, scriptures, and beliefs... and, low and behold, I started to wonder why I "believed all this crazy stuff".

Reading Bart Ehrman's Jesus Interrupted, I came across the reason why any of us believe "crazy stuff".  When religious people read their scriptures or partake in practices, they are doing so devotionally - they are dedicated to the truth of the scripture and practice from the beginning.  A devotional approach, as opposed to a critical one, allows one to bypass items that would normally challenge our reason.  What usually happens is Religion A wants Religion B to observe Religion B's practices and scripture critically... while Religion A continues to observe its own practices and scripture devotionally.

My faith began to crumble when I saw the inherent hypocrisy of applying critical thinking assessments to the religion of another, while being unwilling to apply them to my own.  Once I began to look at my faith critically... it didn't last long.

Modern Mormonism

The GOP has two members of the LDS (Mormon) faith running for president. Broadway has a hit musical which is satirically based on the adventures of two Mormon missionaries (most Mormon guys serve an intense 2 year mission during their late teens or early twenties). If you don't live in the Inter-Mountain West, you may be asking yourself - "Who or what is a Mormon?"

That was my question 8 years ago when my wife and I decided to move our family out to Salt Lake City, Utah. I knew Mormons read the book of Mormon, but other than that... I am not sure that I even connected Mormon to Latter-Day Saint.

However, having been brought up in a charismatic/evangelical environment, I had heard the term Mormon a number of times at church functions... and it was never positive. The word cult was frequently attached. I can't say that I really knew what a cult was either, but somehow it was even worse than a non-Christian religion. Muslims and Hindus were deceived in their false religions... but cults were several cuts lower than that.

So, when we decided to move out here, we had many concerned Christians offering us books and videos about Mormons - how to convert them, how to know their tricks, how to run away, etc.

Somehow, my wife and I had enough foresight to politely decline these advances. We figured the best way to get to know Mormons.... was to get to know Mormons. What we found is that they are pretty much like everyone else. Our Mormon friends are some of the most wonderful people we have ever known. We have also run into self-righteous Mormons who use their faith to put everyone else beneath them.

Seems that pattern weaves its way into every religious group.

However, our good experiences have obviously dominated. After all, we have stayed in Salt Lake City. :)

Still, if one does not live near SLC and you want to get an impression of the best Mormonism has to offer, where might you look? I have a book recommendation.

Modern Mormonism: Myths and Realities

The author is Robert Millet, a Mormon's Mormon, and a man who has become a good friend of mine over the past few years. According to Wikipedia:

Dr. Robert L. Millet (born December 30, 1947 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a professor of ancient scripture and emeritus Dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Millet is a distinguished Latter-day Saint author and speaker with more than 60 published works on virtually all aspects of Mormonism.


Bob has worked with local evangelicals to foster better understanding and to promote courteous discussion of religious differences. He is also one of the best conversationalists I know. Regardless of your perspective on religion, Bob hosts a safe place to share your ideas.  He also has an enviable personal library containing a wide breadth of theological works. I have yet to bring up a theologian or author that he is not well versed in (or had lunch with).

In Modern Mormonism, Bob addresses a number of issues that are most often misunderstood by the public. He also presents the tenants of his faith in an approachable and heart-felt manner. Through personal stories and a deep knowledge base, he gives those unfamiliar with Mormonism a good sense of what the faith is like and what those who subscribe to it believe.

I am not Mormon; but I have many friends, whom I love, who follow the Mormon faith. I think Bob's book gives a good glimpse into the faith that my friends and neighbors embrace. If you have wondered about Mormonism, this book is a great introduction.

So Long, 2010!

2010 was a year filled with joy, but there was a lot of sadness as well. So I look on it with smiles but also some relief that it is over. In any case, I am excited to be entering into 2011.

No big trips this year, but lots of fun little ones. That is the nice thing about living in Utah... you are never far away from a vacation spot. We have been in Utah for just over 6 years now. It is incredible to me, looking back, that we made the move from Michigan... however, I never hesitate to think that this was the best move for our family.

One of the greatest treasures we discovered in moving out here was becoming involved with the South Jordan Community Theater. Kathryn led the way, and we have come to love the people in this community like family. We have participated, in some capacity, in 5 shows during 2010. Each one was tons of fun. My parents have even jumped into the fray when they visit.

Our neighborhood in South Jordan is an excellent place to be. Jacob is involved with Boy Scouts.  Kathryn is busy with middle school. She will be a teenager in 2011.... sigh..... I only got to do one movie in the park behind our house this summer; I am determined to do a better run this year.

2010 was definitely a year of spiritual transitions for us. I think we did a lot of clarifying of who we are not. Perhaps in 2011, we will determine who we are.

Thanks to all of you who read and chime in on this blog!  I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

The Execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner

In a few hours, the state of Utah will be executing Ronnie Lee Gardner for the crime of murder.  I am an adopted son of Utah, and have been very happy with my family's move out here six years ago. However,  I believe our beautiful state is about to commit a shameful act.

I know that most of my ethic on this issue is driven by a belief that Jesus Christ taught correctly and challenged us to be better than our most base selves.  A natural reaction to injury is to desire like for the perpatrator.  We want the scales to be balanced.  An eye for an eye.

It is on this topic that Jesus chose to contradict the laws that, many believe, were handed down by God.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

Later, in that same sermon, Jesus said:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

It is wrong to murder.  A human life should not be taken.  It was wrong when Ronnie Lee Gardner did it 25 years ago.  It will be wrong when the state of Utah - when we - do it tonight.

God forgive us.

US Education: More Adventures in Missing the Point

I read a very disturbing article this week in the Salt Lake Tribune.  It seems the Federal Government is going to offer Utah money in exchange for changes to be made in up to 60 of our lowest scoring schools.  Though my school did not make the list, I am sure we were pretty close.  What the Feds want in exchange for the money is either:

• Replace the principals and half their teachers.
• Convert into charter schools.
• Close their doors. 
• Replace the principal and improve the school through curriculum reform, training for educators, extending learning time and other strategies.

The running theme here is that the key factor driving these student scores is the school.  I have stated this before in previous articles, but if the variable in the equation of student progress were the schools, then we should be seeing a more random distribution of successful and failing schools across socio/economic/location lines.  Yet it is very easy to predict under what socio/econoic/location circumstances schools will be successful... and under which they will not.

Nevertheless our nation's leaders, and many of the constituents they serve, seem determined to punish teachers for choosing to teach in the wrong place.

My daughter is in the sixth grade. From her earliest ages, she has been read to, had rich life experiences, a good diet, regular bed times, and protection from experiences she is not cognitively and emotionally ready for. Compare that to many of the sixth graders I teach who have very limited exposure to rich vocabulary and educational experience, who stay up till all hours tending to themselves, who have been watching violent and sexual movies since they were infants, and whose diet is primarily provided by Frito-Lay. To think that, on the whole, these two sets of life experiences will produce equal academic results is blindly idealistic. Yet, our nation seems determined to punish the principals and teachers of these inner city schools for not magically compensating for the different circumstances of these children.

However, my more immediate question is : Here in Utah, which would our legislature prefer?  To see  ANOTHER swipe taken at our public schools?  Or the chance to take up the "posture" of Utah thumbing their nose at the Federal Government?

Both good choices from their vantage I am sure.

Utah Legislature and the LDS Church

I live in Utah. Living in Utah means you get to hear A LOT about the Mormon/LDS church. This can annoy a lot of non-LDS folks (and some LDS too). Because of this, I think the LDS get a a lot of undeserved criticism. To some, no matter what the LDS church does, it is wrong.

Not that occasions don't exist when criticism is deserved. An article I read in the Salt Lake Tribune today demonstrated one of those occasions.

Utah has some "quirky" liquor laws. Most prominent among these is a requirement that you be a member of whatever bar at which you would like to order a drink. Just walking into a pub and showing your ID is not sufficient. You have to become a member. It is not overly intrusive, but it is very tedious. Utahns who want to defend these laws often point out that there are other states that have a quirky liquor law or two. I have never considered it a good reason to continue a bad practice simply because someone else also participates in a bad practice.

The Utah legislature is in session right now and one of the items they are considering (thanks to the prompting of our governor) is a removal of the pub membership requirement. There was a meeting about it this week and according to today's Salt Lake Tribune:

Representatives of the House, the Senate, bar owners, restaurants, the governor's office and the LDS Church hammered out the framework during intense closed-door negotiations this week.

Now the teacher in me wants to put forth a multiple choice question.

Class, which group above does not fit in the context of the set? Is it:

A. Representatives of the House

B. State Senators

C. Bar Owners

D. Restaurant owners

E. Representatives from the Governor's Office

F. The LDS Church

Ding-Ding! Time's up, pencils down! If you answered F, you are correct!!

What business does the LDS church have in these meetings? I am particularly interested in the opinions of non-Utahns. I may not recall correctly, but I do not seem to remember officials of the Catholic church being involved in meetings like these back in Michigan. In fact, I would venture a guess that it does not happen in any other state (though Southern states may give a couple seats to a Televangelist or two). :)

I know that the typical defensive response here in Utah is that since the LDS church is so large here, they have a vested interest in decisions like these (Mormons don't even drink). I don't buy this. The vast majority of our state legislature is already Mormon due to their large percentage. The LDS church has voice through its elected representatives... just like everyone else. Injecting themselves at this level is simply inappropriate.

The LDS church members are represented in these meetings by their duly elected representatives; in this, there is an equal playing field. For the LDS church to be given special representation in these meetings (and so many others) it just announces that, in the Utah legislature, the LDS church is more equal than others.

Playing the God Card

Salt Lake Tribune columnist Paul Rolly had some interesting commentary today. He was quoting a letter written to the Utah legislature by the president of the Eagle Forum ( conservative/LDS lobbying group in Utah).

The Eagle Forum president was concerned about the various gay rights legislation coming up, so she wrote the following to remind the predominately LDS (Mormon) legislature where they should be standing:

"We have never seen a time when the homosexual community has been as aggressive and as committed to an objective as they are now," ...

"Every seat not taken by us in the committee room will be filled by those supporting these radical homosexual bills,"...

"I would like to share some scriptures in the (LDS) Doctrine and Covenants that have great meaning and comfort to me. In section 101 verses 86-95, the Lord gives us some lobbying instructions, starting with local government and working our way up through the state and federal government. We are told after we importune at the feet of our elected officials and they heed not (a righteous message) the Lord will arise and come forth and vex the nation and in His time will cut off those wicked, unfaithful, and unjust stewards, and appoint them their portion among hypocrites, and unbelievers. He also mentions outer darkness, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth." ...

Underlying message? Fail to vote the way we want and GOD IS GOING TO GET YOU!!

This is a very effective means of controlling many who take their religion seriously (not too dissimilar from how Ben Kenobi directed the minds of the stormtroopers near Mos Eisley).

So did the Eagle Forum president pull the God card because she is Mormon? No, I believe she did it because it was easy; and because she "knows" she is right. Why waste time on reason, persuasion, understanding, or... gulp... compromise - when you can pull the God card. It ends discussion and saves time.

My beliefs regularly get called into question because there is very little that I would be an absolutist about. I don't spend much time with rhetoric about absolute "Truth".

Why?

Because the end of that road leads to Ms. Eagle Forum president. You lose empathy, and your conscience no longer pricks when you try to strong arm people into accepting your view. Forcing someone into your worldview is for their good after all.

I was sharing at a bible study once that I was desiring to navigate a balance in instructing my children about God. I want to educate them about my faith, but I do not want to indoctrinate them. One of my friends said in a confused, but firm, voice "What is wrong with indoctrinating them if you know you are right?"

Notice where absolutism leads? Why bother reasoning with my children, persuading them, living my faith in a way that makes them think well of it.... when I could just strong arm them into it... give them no options.... make them believe GOD WILL GET THEM if they don't share my view.

I finish with a quote from the movie Dogma by Kevin Smith.

Bethany: So you're saying that having beliefs is a bad thing?

Rufus the Apostle: I just think it's better to have an idea. You can change an idea; changing a belief is trickier. People die for it, people kill for it.

South Jordan's own "Chris Buttars"

Well, all the talk in Utah right now is about Chris Buttars. Everyone has an opinion. I think some of these opinions are worth remembering when election time comes up. South Jordan councilwoman Aleta Taylor, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, praised Buttars saying:

"[Buttars is a] watchdog for the values of, what I believe, are the majority of the citizens of our state. I trust that what he said was probably accurate," she added, "if not very politically correct."

Chris Buttars - Yep, he's my senator!

Senator Buttars is our very own Archie Bunker... without the humor. The only benefit I see to him politically is that he drives many conservative republicans toward the center.

Utah is changing slowly but surely. Senator Buttars is one of the last vestiges of the old political guard that we need to wipe from our shoe.

Pavlov's Voters

The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story today showing how members of the Utah Legislature pushed through certain monies years ago to be provided to charter schools. At the same time, these legislators had interest in construction companies ready to receive these monies. The groups who formed these charter schools felt that they got a raw deal from these companies.
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Charter School Properties III, whose investors include current state Rep. Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork, and former Utah County Republican legislators Jim Ferrin and Glenn Way, never was willing to reveal to Bishop how much it cost to build the three-year-old structure with a roof that has always leaked.

Reagan Academy, a charter school in Springville, purchased its building from Charter School Properties #4, which includes the same trio as investors. The school paid $700,000 over appraised market value. Noah Webster Academy in Orem paid $600,000 over its appraisal to Noah Webster Properties owned by Ferrin and Morley.

The private companies developing and financing charter schools in Utah stand to make enormous profit in a booming industry with little oversight and minimal competition. Without legal representation or construction expertise, some starry-eyed school founders may not be in the best position to protect their schools' interests, parents say. They make mistakes that could cost the schools and taxpayers money.

"I wish the state could find a way to not put us at the mercy of the charter developers," said Stephanie Colson, a founder of The Ranches Academy, a charter school in Eagle Mountain.

Each year, charter schools' funding and future are in the Legislature's hands. Ferrin was among lawmakers who championed legislation aiding charter school growth.
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Ms. Colson may not understand that the legislature she wants to oversee and protect was the one who set this up in the first place.

Many like minded legislators are setting educational policy at the capital this week!

How do Utah legislators who behave this way remain in office session after session? They know the right words to say to get their voters salivating. The voucher result last fall may be an indication that the spell over Utah's populace is breaking. We will see in November.

What is really wrong with our schools? Part 2

Our Utah Legislature is heating up again. Many are headed back with an enhanced hate-on for the public schools. Last year the legislature passed a private school voucher initiative. The people of Utah had it put up for vote, and it was soundly defeated.

Rather than listening to their constituents, the legislature will attempt to dictate to local school districts how they will run. Never mind that we have a state school board who already has that job.

Central to all misnomers that many anti-school people hold is that the teacher and the school are responsible for the education of a child. This is simply not the case. It is like pushing a rope. The school can provide it, what you do with it is up to you.

Still, most fixes for the public schools tend to focus on the teacher and the school. No Child Left Behind puts the success or failure of a student completely with the school. It is almost as if the child doesn't exist.

I wrote the following in the comments section in a Salt Lake Tribune story that dealt with schools.
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“Jim, Henry, Craig, Sam, and Cam all began violin lessons at the same time.

Jim loved violin and he took to it eagerly. His parents never needed to monitor his practicing.

Henry didn’t care much for violin, but he liked to be successful in all that he put his hand to do. He focused in class and practiced nightly.

Craig was not much for practice or paying attention, but he knew he had to achieve good marks or there would be no football this season.

Sam didn’t care much for violin and would always “forget” to practice. His attention in class was up and down. His parents, however, were diligent in making sure that he practiced nightly.

Cam didn’t care much for the violin and his parents didn’t care much either. He never picked up his instrument outside of class. His presence in class was a hindrance to the other four due to his endless misbehavior.

Over the first two years Jim and Henry made great strides. Craig and Sam were average, while Cam made little progress at all.

Things changed over the following two years. Jim and Henry were markedly ahead of everyone else. Sam’s parents had gotten lax as he got older and were no longer following up with him. He began to hang out with Cam’s crowd and rarely picked up his instrument outside class. Craig, kept his ability just high enough to stay on the football team, but could not be called proficient.

The end result of four years of instruction were two excellent students, one very average, and two who were little better than when they started.”

We could take away teacher’s unions, implement vouchers, give merit pay, etc… We could spend all of our time attacking this issue at the teacher level and I believe, in the end, it would have little effect. The teacher is there to provide a service. The level to which a student avails his or herself to that service rests with the student and the parents.

I have seen, in seventeen years of teaching, more and more “Sam and Cams” coming to school. Many classrooms have seen the “Sam and Cam” number swing from 1-3 to nearly half the class or more in the past 20 years. This factor WILL bring scores down. It hurts the education of the rest.

Until we deal with this issue... everything else is just empty rhetoric.
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I have always stated that schools do not drive culture, they reflect it. The school that sits in the local neighborhood is, for the most part, a reflection of that neighborhood. That is not to say that there are not those who are unhappy with the school. However, I believe they are not the majority. If they were, the school would change.

C.S. Lewis said, "All get what they want... they do not always like it."

We have a society of consumers, yet we want our children to be producers. We want to do what we want when we want, yet we expect our children to have discipline and self control. They reflect what they see.

Part 1