Mitt Romney: Why I'm voting for him and why he'll lose

I have been a Mitt Romney fan since 1999. The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City have been one of the great highlights of my life and that was thanks to Mitt. If you don't remember why, let me tell you.

In 1995 Salt Lake City was awarded the opportunity to host the 2002 winter games. I remember being downtown when the announcement was made. It was just like Christmas for little 9-year old Craig. However, by 1998 little progress had been made and now there were lengthy damning allegations of bribery, corruption and catastrophe and some serious discussion about the continued feasibility of hosting the games in Utah. Suddenly there were criminal charges and mass resignations and Mitt Romney, CEO of Bain Capital, was hired to turn the entire organization around. He was brilliant. He cut costs, restored trust, built new partnerships, expedited construction of new Olympic venues and staged what is arguably one of the most successful winter games in history. Oh, and did I mention he didn't take a penny for salary?!

Next thing ya know, Mitt is running for Governor of Massachusetts. Nearly bankrupt, rife with corruption and greed, he wins the liberal state and in one term, balances the budget, stabilizes the economy, repairs the infrastructure and successfully implements a plan to provide affordable health care to everyone in Massachusetts. And wouldn't ya know, he didn't take a cent in taxpayer salary typically given a Governor.

How was this possible? Well, first, Romney is smart. He uses time and money wisely. He knows how to compromise. He's sees the value of a certain outcome over the selfish arrogance which usually guides policy decision making in politics today. And he's relentless. When the going gets tough, he pushes through. Failure is not an option. Oh, and he has a moral compass the North Star would be jealous of.

These qualities are incredibly important for the leader of a world I want my family to grow up in.

To me, this should be enough to convince anyone Romney is the best man for the job. And it boggles my mind and pains me that this isn't the case.

THE MORMON QUESTION

Personally, Mitt's religion is of crucial importance to me and one of his greatest strengths in my book. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides a structure for moral living. I'm not talking about smoking or swearing or shopping on Sunday, though the church does address those issues. I'm talking about honesty. Integrity. Family. Self-reliance. Serving others and seeking the Lord's guidance in our lives. Obviously my opinions are based in my belief in Christ and my testimony of the gospel, and if you don't share that, it might confuse you or put you off. I'd be happy to answer any questions because I think you'll easily see the benefits of these teachings. Next, for those that don't know, the Church builds Temples of the Lord where the righteous may go to commune with God. A recommend of worthiness is required to enter and must be obtained through confidential interviews with two local church leaders. Mitt Romney holds one of these recommends and can enter the temple to provide service, receive instruction and seek answers from the Lord. Recently I was able to enter the temple for the first time and participate in the same ordinances and sacred rituals as many other Mormons like Mitt. I haven't been given the key to world peace or instructions on how to end world hunger, and in all likelihood, Mitt won't receive those answers if President either. But there are things I've felt and direction I have received while in the temple and I think if our President of the United States had access to that same environment and spiritual one-ness with God, our country would be in an infinitely better place. Anyone can pray to God and receive his guidance and blessings whether they be Mormon or not, but the Temple is a special place. *Side note: Every one of God's children are invited to come to the Temple, but requirements are set out beginning with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and joining his church on earth today.

The Mormons are well known for an additional book of scripture called the Book of Mormon. We are asked to read it daily throughout our lives. In my recent readings I've (re)discovered prophecies about the end of days. Based on those prophecies, the end of days look closer than they ever have before. I don't want to get in to every detail, or back story, but even the words from Isaiah the great prophet in the Bible spell out and predict the world in the 21st century with accuracy that can only be termed prophetic. One passage particularly worries me 2 Nephi 15:20 "Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil". I see this everyday. EVERY SINGLE DAY. You turn on the news and you can't miss it. And this, is why I think Mitt Romney will not become President of the United States in November.

America in the 21st century is simply too eager to disregard good and glorify evil. Initially an evil act might abhor or appall, but in hours or days, it's "just what the world is coming to". When attacking Mitt Romney, the most elaborate and ridiculous accusations are made. Okay, he put his dog on the top of his car, smart? maybe not, but at that time, seatbelts weren't even in most cars. He might have said some unkind thing in high school to another person. Well of course he did, but didn't you? Is that the very worst you can come up with? Yes? That's what I thought. Isn't that amazing! Yet we are more than okay with public figures who cheat on their spouses, who conduct dishonest business, who shame and attack others for being different. Mitt Romney...it just doesn't even get through anymore. What some people call flip-flopping, I call pragmatic learning. Have you never changed your mind? Don't you think some issues are better suited for a certain organization to handle? RomneyCare was very successful. On a state level with a state's guidance and citizen's actively included in the process. But that doesn't mean ObamaCare works, or is the right plan for the entire nation. Is 50 States too many? Maybe it is.

Obama is not an evil person. I'm sure he tries every day to be a good husband and father. I'm sure he's trying to be a good President. But he's lost, he's confused and he's out of his league. Obama's foreign policy experience before becoming President was growing up in Hawaii and having a father from Kenya. Romney has served a 2 year mission in France. Living there, speaking there, serving others there. Then he went on to create a hugely successful event bringing together...what? WORLD leaders, athletes, visitors, businesses. I don't understand what the disconnect is. Romney's rich? Obama isn't living off food stamps. Come on. So Obama is more eloquent. Well Moses wasn't that great of a public speaker either.

Finally, even if Mitt Romney is elected, I know things won't change over night. I know he'll make mistakes and have difficulties and challenges. Being President probably sucks. You are told you have all this authority, but you don't. You have to work with others who hate you. You have to deal with policies and institutions that you didn't create and you can't just 'wipe them away'. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that only a President knows. But Romney is better equipped with experience in the real world and resources in the spiritual world that I believe can right the wrongs in our country today.

Mean Pt. 1: Bullying

I firmly believe that hate is taught. Children don't come into this world hating anyone or anything. How could that be? Yet just a few months or years down the road kids are choosing teams and picking on the weak and exhibiting a variety of other behavioral traits that aren't all that positive. So where does childhood meanness come from? Well, from all of us. Being mean is so easy and I know and believe that there is opposition in all things, so to be nice, someone, somewhere, sometime, somehow has to be mean.

Today I was at Goodwill in San Antonio. An older lady was talking to a cashier and this younger woman interrupted her and said, "Ma'am, there is a line here". The older woman responded curtly in reply and continued her conversation for a solid minute or two longer. When she finally left, the younger woman started talking to the cashier about the incident and said "I respect my elders, but she, she's just not all there", and made the classic cuckoo sign pointing at her head.

WHAT?

That's not respect! That's not kind or decent! That's mean. Of course by this time the old woman was long gone, so no harm done, right? WRONG!

Let's get personal. I remember in kindergarten a boy named Nick. Nick didn't have very many friends. He was always dressed in old tattered clothes. He didn't always smell so good. He yelled and picked fights. But we were there to egg him on and fight back and point out all his deficiencies. Now I don't remember any of us doing any one thing that was just awful and we weren't mean everyday. But it happened. At Christmas time Nick put a rock or stick in a snowball and threw it at another kid in my class. He missed, but when they found that he'd loaded the snowball to make it more dangerous, he was suspended. In kindergarten! Obviously he had escalated the situation and someone could have been seriously hurt. But he should not have been suspended, or at least not the only one.


In 4th Grade it was time for me to suffer brutal bullying. My mom was very involved in the school and had me audition for the school talent show. I sang a song from Disney's "Pinocchio". I wore a little hat and a big blue bow tie and was just the cutest thing you ever did see. :-\ The teasing was relentless. I was scared to go to lunch by myself. On the playground I was actually pushed and kicked to the ground. By this time it was mostly 5th and 6th graders reigning terror and my friends/peers were far from helpful in protecting me. No one else wanted to get pushed around and made fun of, so they backed off until the big kids left me alone. Now I had had the lessons where you should tell a teacher or an adult if someone hurts you or touches you or...well, you know the list. So I went to Ms. Jensen, a playground supervisor. She wasn't a teacher, but she was my bishop's wife. She repeatedly told me, "Well, I didn't see anything happen, so I can't do anything about it" or "You really shouldn't be a tattle-tell for every little thing that happens, kids play rough sometimes". And that was the end of the story. I even talked to my mom, but somehow, the pieces didn't connect for her. (A trait I would suffer the consequences of many more times before she passed away). Well, finally the school year ended and the big kids went to jr. high or at least took a break for the summer and found someone younger and weaker to pick on the next year. Problem solved.?!? (It's weird how writing this, I can so clearly picture everything as it happened).

Well, now, 15 years later, bullying and anti-bullying is all the rage. We see Karen Klein, 68 (she looks 90) (see how mean I am) a school bus monitor get bullied and berated. She becomes an Internet sensation and is given over a quarter of a million dollars, which she in turn, donates to programs striving to end bullying.  But those programs are aimed at the wrong population. In theory, we don't need to teach our children to stop bullying...we need to back up and teach ourselves to stop bullying. (I'll be getting into more of that in Mean Pt. 2). But bullying in affecting our society in a very negative way. Children, the elderly, the disabled, the "different" are being verbally, physically and emotionally assaulted. And we don't know what to do. Suspend the offenders, give money to the victims and educational campaigns, look the other way...and yet each year and each month, the problem seems to be getting worse.

I believe there are several factors that make this plague so difficult. First, GroupThink and mob mentality are so accessible and comfortable. It stands to reason and countless examples illustrate that while one person might not instigate a confrontation, give them a couple buddies with a little more fire and passion and the desire to be accepted, coupled with the beginning strands of anonymity, and you're rarin' to go. Second, we live in a society so built on competition and achievement that as a whole, it's hard to watch someone succeed without feeling jealous. To combat those feelings of inadequacies, we attack...and we can't attack the successful person (usually), so we find someone "different". And third, the examples we set for others speak so much louder and clearer than the words we say. How can we honestly expect to convince our youth that bullying is wrong when we do or say mean things every day? They watch us, heck, I watch us. I saw that lady today. I think eventually she realized I was eaves dropping, but she didn't stop, or apologize or change her behavior. She actually acted as if I must understand and be on "her side".

This really bothers me and I already have a full other post ready to peck out, but if you've made it this far, take a second and watch this video. Okay, now it's Taylor Swift, and I'm sorry about that, but this song is worth it.

World Suicide Prevention Day

Today, September 10, 2012 is World Suicide Prevention Day. My twitter feed was rather overwhelmed with 140 character statements of hope. But this does hold some very personal sway for me.

In 2007 I attempted suicide twice over the Thanksgiving holiday. My life was a wreck, you could check off every cliche in the book. Problems at home, family, school, friends, church, etc. etc. etc. I had just lost my grandpa and had a huge fight with my family. After hanging up, I called my friend and told him goodbye. I was about to get in my car and drive off...a cliff. Figuratively and perhaps literally. Luckily my friend intercepted me on my way out. This was after 11pm and within 15 minutes a crew of 6 or 7 friends gathered and stopped me and helped me get through the night. I was feeling better but still drained and on edge. Monday I went to work and was told for the second time in three days that I was an utter failure. Thankfully I had promised to call a good friend if I felt suicidal again. I called her up, she rushed from work, called the cops and took me to the hospital. I spent a week in in-patient psychiatric care on suicide watch. If you don't know what that means, you are locked in a small portion of the hospital. There is a rec. room and 6 or 8 bedrooms. They take EVERYTHING from you. They take your phone, your belt, your shoelaces, and more. You can't use the bathroom without permission and supervision though they do allow some privacy. You wake up and eat hospital food, participate in group therapy, meet with a doctor, work with volunteers, meet with a therapist, eat some more hospital food and watch a movie. You are given very limited communication with the outside world and you meet some incredible people dealing with all kinds of issues and disabilities.

It was the hardest week of my life, but also one of the best. I was able to finally relax. I felt safe. I felt protected and meeting others, especially one volunteer, I felt loved. When I was finally allowed and felt comfortable leaving, I realized that my life had to change.

There is a great campaign called The Trevor Project. It was created to offer hope for teenagers and others in the GLBTQ community, but really can and does stretch beyond hoping to help anyone contemplating suicide. They have a very aggressive YouTube campaign called "It Get's Better" where celebrities both straight and gay come together to talk about how life DOES get better and 'you' are important and others are impacted positively by your influence in their lives.

Spending time in the hospital helped to reset my emotional/mental strata. But, I wouldn't have been successful in the long run if I hadn't been blessed with friends who gathered around and continued to support me and love me. Personally it required a huge amount of self-control to avoid the traps and hazards I'd been letting myself fall into leading up to the attempts.

My life in the last 5 years hasn't always felt better. But for the first time, with my upcoming move to San Antonio, I really feel like life it getting better and I have a sustainable future in this world of ours. But you've gotta have faith. You can always change your mind about what you want to do with your life, but you can't change it once your dead.

If anyone is struggling, there are people that care for you. The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386. The Hope Line: 1-800-394-4673 or 1-800-273-8255. The Crisis Hotline (888) 333-2377.

I've been there. Other people have been there and we've made it out to see the light and you can too. Have hope, reach out, get help and stay alive.

Hurricane Pride

Happy Anniversary Gulf Coast! Katrina sends all her love with Isaac as he blasts through town on the Seventh Anniversary of one of the greatest catastrophes in American History.

So today I'm flipping stations and come across CNN or FoxNews or something and they are talking about Hurricane Isaac. By now it's far enough over land that it has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but the storm is only moving 5mph. That is so slow. And all the while it just keeps raining and raining and raining. After Katrina, the Army Corp of Engineers rebuilt and refit levees all around New Orleans. But levees and flood gates and pump stations are still tricky things and when a storm is dumping feet of rain every couple hours, there's no telling what will happen.

In  Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans right along the Gulf Coast, levees were breached and whole neighborhoods were completely overrun with flood waters today. But here's my beef. The parish was under mandatory evacuation. Yet, as the water rushed over the levee walls bringing houses under 5' of water in a matter of minutes, there were still over 100 people in the cities. WHY? ARROGANCE! IGNORANCE! POVERTY! Now that I've lived in New Orleans, it's clear that everyone in the Gulf Coast has experienced or at least heard chilling tales of the threats brought by hurricane season. I know many of these people are incredibly impoverished and evacuating is an incredibly challenging and costly task. But I know too that churches, community organizations, parish governments and the National Guard are there to provide evacuation assitance BEFORE the hurricane hits. Mid-Hurricane rescues are incredibly dangerous. It's not fair to ask good men and women to risk their lives naviagating flooded streets, wild and domestic animals and slashing, thrashing rain. Hurricanes can be very unpredictable, but so far Isaac has done exactly what we thought it would do. Some people are in a situation where they can, forseeably "ride out" a storm. They live in higher neighborhoods or cities further inland, but it blows my mind that we have people running with their family up to the roof with chainsaw so they don't drown in their own house.

Right now, I'm not facing overwhelming flood waters from a slow moving hurricane, but what am I facing? What can I do to prepare for disasters (emotional, spiritual, physical, etc.) that if I don't care for now, will put others in jeopardy later as they are left to try and save me? We must keep our own lives and affairs in order. I know this won't happen for anyone over night, but at the very least, listen, watch, act, when given warnings of caution and a hand of assistance that can save you and those there to protect you.

Be safe, be smart, stay calm. And always look for ways to better prepare for whatever life may throw at you. We can do this. We must do this. Go to work. 

P.S. The Army Corp of Engineers did have one awesome success today. Since Katrina, they built a water pump that can drain an olympic pool full of water every 4 seconds! That's cool.

Mormon in America: Rock Center in Ruins

What is wrong with NBC? I used to live and breathe by the peacock. Now I'm just as disgusted as I am with every other 'lamestream' media. When I first head about NBC's Rock Center special "Mormon in America" a lot of people were promoting it to their non-LDS friends on Facebook. Instantly red flags went up for me and I felt like all my fears came out over the course of the hour.

I studied communications and took a news writing class at BYU and so I understand some basics on where NBC was coming from and where it was trying to go...but as an active Latter-day Saint, they totally missed the mark. Before it was even on in the Mtn Time Zone, my friend in New Orleans tweeted that it was out of control.

What bothered me most:

Jon Huntsman's daughter, Abby. Oh boy. What a train wreck. Okay, there are people that leave The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lots of them. But why are you interviewing them and asking them very important questions that should be answered by a current active member of the LDS faith. It's perfectly valid to discuss her concerns and frustrations and reasons for leaving the Church. But find a bishop, stake president or other Church AUTHORITY to answer questions on the temple, priesthood, and actual factual tradition. Her story was sad, her bishop should have not said those things to her and that's not Church Doctrine, but she chose to be offended and to leave on her own. Segue to Mitch Mayne, San Francisco's very own openly gay Executive Secretary. OH MY GOSH. Yes the Exec Sec is privileged to/required to attend meetings where very important, sacred and confidential matters are discussed. BUT the Exec Sec doesn't sit on the stand and doesn't make policy or worthiness decisions for the ward and it's members. Gay members should be able to hold any normal position (Bishop/Mish. Pres/GA unfortunately excluded because you need to be married). But making a huge fuss out of an executive secretary is ridiculous.

Joanna Brooks. Our Favorite Book of Mormon Girl. Okay, I've listened to several interviews with her now and read several blog posts including one specifically in regards to her Rock Center interview. I'll be honest, I struggle understanding Mormon Feminists. Why a woman would want to be bishop or high councillor is honestly beyond me. I have no problem with women leading organizations, events, etc., but it gets to a point where I don't see the need to have completely equal callings, keys and authority (and it's not cuz I'm trying to greedily keep them for myself). Then I went to the temple and was able to participate in all the ordinances. The very first time I was shocked at how much equality exists in the gospel and each time I've attended temple services since, I've felt the same way. I would welcome the chance to talk to a Mormon feminist in the temple about the subject. In Brooks' response she pithily acknowledges this equality but quickly dismisses it, but I don't know why. Back to her appearance in Rock Center. I guess the main thing, is that even she said afterwards that the editorial process was very selective in their final portrayal. Frustrating.

***Today, (8/28/12) my friend Katrina shared the transcript of a speech given about a Cooperative Paradigm in Mormon Gender Equality and Feminism. It was a fascinating examination of the situation faced by many Mormon women that I simply didn't understand before and I think part of that was being the only child and never having sisters examine these questions as they grew in the Church. I appreciated several things about the speech given by Neylen McBaine, 1) She did her research and showed her thesis, methods, results and conclusions very clearly and succinctly. 2) She covered all sides of the topic from men, leaders, women content with their place in the Church and women who feel deep pain over their place in the Church today. 3) She avoided extremist language. That gets so old so quickly and it really turns me off to the subject. (Unfortunately, I can make no such assurances in my blog) ;-) 4) She highlighted historical activities of women in the modern Church including Eliza R. Snow and offered ideas on how we can return to more Christ-like existance citing Mary, the woman at the well and others in the ministry of Christ. And as someone who has studied public relations I understood her processes on how the story we tell, how we tell it, and how we act it, must be synchronized and meaningful so all the "audiences" buy into it and accept it as their paradigm. You can find the complete transcript here and I urge you to read it, especially if you have no idea what Mormon Feminism is all about like I did. http://Jimmer.it/lQ4AEI

Al and Juleen Jackson. Most people in the church marry a person of their own ethnic background. It's traditional, it's practical, it's what happens. I personally know many people who are married to someone from a different race/ethnic background, and I think all of them are amazing and have amazing spouses. But they are in the minority and they do often face challenges due to differences in cultural upbringing. So when Rock Center singles out the Jackson family...they are getting a slightly different perspective. Fine. BUT, then they hound Al on racism in the church. He was awesome. As I remember he said he never felt discriminated against, never hated, never excluded. But they kept at it. What the crap? Oh and near the end of that segment, they showed the Jackson's at church and the congregation was standing, swaying, singing and clapping their hands. Say WHAT? Uh...

The Book of Mormon: The Musical. This was kind of a wash. Brian Williams did say that it was raunchy and awful, but the boy they interviewed was a former member of the Church though they billed it as simply a "member" for most of the interview/program. However, Clark Johnson, who is gay and no longer active in the church gave some very thoughtful and meaningful responses. And because The Book of Mormon: The Musical has been such a success, it was definitely something I feel needed to be addressed in relation to The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. 

I think the worst offense really had to come down to their display, albeit brief, of "the magic underwear". Fine, go google Mormon Underwear and that is the picture that comes up, but after discussing the issue, (with Abby Hunstman, a former member), is there really a need to put it up on screen? I don't think so.

There were a few things I liked:

David Neeleman. Wow, what a great guy. I know his son Daniel and Daniel is the kind of guy who is just solid. I never would have guessed his dad was a 'titan of industry' changing the way people fly and do business. He dressed modestly, was genuine and sincere and just an overall good guy. And after watching an interview with his dad, I see why. Mormon's can be successful and human. I felt David really highlighted a lot of the good in a modern Mormon family. Tight-knit, self-sufficient, giving and caring, sustaining and supporting.

Welfare Square. Man, I really did love this segment. The Church has a world class, second to none, temporal support welfare system. And finally we got some good interviews. Talking with the directors at Welfare Square, missionaries volunteering at The Bishop's Storehouse, people in need and receiving help...great interviews. I especially liked listening to the senior couple missionaries. I hate to use the term stay on the message, but they did. They talked about how we (as Mormon's) care about each other and use fast offerings to help our brothers and sisters all over the world. I also read and I think it was mentioned, that, sure, the cannery could install machines to triple production and reduce jobs by 2/3 but that's not the point. The point is to also provide those people an outlet to a) give back for what they receive and b) learning skills and working with others. Times are tough in the world. But whether it's Deseret Industries or The Bishop's Storehouse or Employment Centers, the Church's system is designed, not for free handouts, but for a hand up and way out of the stress and disappointment plaguing families across the world. That's powerful and something Rock Center actually accurately portrayed in my opinion.

Overall...well, it wasn't pretty. I really wish every person that doesn't belong to our Faith could have watched the program with a active Mormon to clarify statements and answer unanswered questions. I guess it's nice we're getting some attention, but...mmm.

You can watch the whole program here: http://Jimmer.it/GFxZZO
You can visit http://www.askmormongirl.com/ for Joanna Brooks response dated Aug 26.  

Moving Forward

This is my new blog. I've been thinking of writing this for quite some time. I always come up with catchy titles and snazzy url's. I even have a lot of good content. But writing terrifies me. It leaves me exposed and vulnerable. I get caught up in my own work.

To be cliche, this blog is what it is. It might be contradictory. It might be angry. It might be sad or happy or almost anything.

Life is full of confusing "facts" and "opinions". It's often hard to know what's up and what's down. I want to share my thoughts on issues as they come up. I hope that I, more than anyone, can be open-minded and fair as I talk about controversial topics, but I will always try and state and defend my opinions.

Thanks for reading. This could be fun.