Modern Mormonism and Hate Non-Profits

The traditional Mormon definition of Marriage is one man and one woman and one woman and one woman – back up – sorry that is the old fashioned past Mormon Church. I sincerely think that the majority of Mormons in Utah and their marriages are between one man and one woman. But like the deep seeded façade and denial of what passes for sexuality in the RC church, the mormon church would prefer not to think about Polygamy.

In fact the mechanism at times of the hierarchy of Temple Square operates in a same mindset as the Vatican on certain things and to change the subject when sensitive issues like polygamy or celibacy get interjected into a conversation.

I do not dislike Mormons. I have known some, worked with them and respected their old fashioned sense of right and wrong and morality. But when you try to discuss a full range of topics from the life menu, the light bulb goes out on many subjects. There are many blind spots in the Mormon POV.

The subject of Mormon polygamy gets a boilerplate answer about that was practiced in the early church and on and on and on. I do not like it when people trying to protect their social bubble are willing to exit you, falling into space, from their bubble, when they do not have the social maturity to discuss openly and honestly any subject in the life story.

If it had not been for the political hissy fit of the American extreme conservative establishment in the 23rd Congressional election in upstate New York, I may not be writing this article.

What I don’t like is a mask. I do not like a hidden Vatican style agenda in the politics of the American democracy.

I now see that part of the reason that it was necessary to wage a national campaign of conservative preferences on the ballot – to make choices for local NY state citizens – does in part relate to the religious foibles of the LDS institution in Salt Lake City.

I see that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), whose mission statement is “Protecting Marriage and the Faith Communities that Sustain It”, has not yet come up with a dollar figure for its involvement in the NY-23 rape of choice – interference – figurative jack booted disruption - for NY citizens in their local election. The Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, was way too liberal for national conservative Republicans. That and she had no objections to Gay Marriage.

NOM paid for 160,000 mailings and tens of thousands of robot-calls. NOM is alleged to be a front for the LDS Church in a civil complaint going back to the passing of Proposition 8 in California.

Am I upset that the gay marriage initiative to overturn laws in Maine allowing gay marriage was a success for the carpetbag interests like NOM who financed it – No, I am not upset. It will be on the ballot again and again or passed again in the legislature. The fact that it is on the ballot or has already passed once by the Maine legislature and under the signature of the Governor means that democracy works in this country despite fascist attempts to define or legislate “morality” or manipulate public opinion through fear.

Putting that all aside, let us talk about how besides, Hate Radio, and Hate News – we now have Hate NPOs ( Non-Profit Organizations like NOM ) that have special tax status and are a conduit for money laundering all around the conservative circuit and whereby donations remain anonymous. I don’t care if these NPOs finance anything, it is the mask that bothers me and how tax free religions can act as non profits and impose by $$$$ their religious philosophies on all of us in the political arena. It goes against the foundation stone principle of separation of church and state.

So in case anybody is wondering why the Mormons are spending tens of millions protecting marriage between a man and a woman one only has to look at a timeline to perhaps see real intent.

The Jessop fundamentalist LDS cult in Texas got raided in April 2008. The money and signatures for Prop 8 in California materializes in June 2008. The Mormons would rather harass the Gay Dream of Marriage instead of addressing or rescuing these poor women in Texas, these sex slaves and children trapped in medieval dogmatic polygamist bullshit once sanctioned by the lunatic con artist prophet Joseph Smith.

Like most con games, they want you to look away - from Texas. They want to deny that polygamy still exists in Utah and in the West. They want to preserve their perfect little social bubble and blind spots to the outside world.

Whatever. Like I said in my previous article, I in downstate NY did not like what I saw in upstate NY in the NY-23 special election.

Whatever happened to Tolerance. It used to be a Virtue.

Live and learn.

How Goes Maine So Goes The Nation ?

The political saying above was about Presidential Elections that saw the State of Maine voting for the winner 90% of the time in the past century. Maine in the past seemed to be right in the middle but on the fine winning edge of how to judge the mood and course of the nation.

Gay marriage has come to Maine. There is obviously something going on out there in the world. Being the flaming liberal that I am, I believe in equal rights and opportunities for everyone. The liberal in me is also still a little bit homophobic. That is what I was taught in the American Culture that I grew up in. The American Culture I will die in someday in the future will have Gay Marriage almost everywhere. Theory is one thing. The facts staring at you in the face is quite a different thing. It will take some getting used to (for me at least).

I have known and socialized with Gay people in the past. Having lived on and off in NYC for close to a quarter century, it is impossible not to know any gay people. Live and let live has always been the common attitude for the most part. Hate crimes can happen just as easily here in NYC as they do in Wyoming. Social mores can change. Human nature remains the same.

This is where the paradigm shift happens in our Global Culture. This is where there are no real roadmaps. What was described in the Bible as a no-no is now getting mainstream secular attention. Without a Constitutional amendment supporting rights to gay marriage I would guesstimate this status will be a permanent civil function of a dozen to half the fifty states in the next decade. Once the novelty, fear and bias wears off, perhaps all or almost all states will recognize this as a legal status.

Isn’t it odd how so much of what the common culture now wants comes from the culture itself and not from tradition and not from sacred texts anymore? The secular state has arrived even with all the right wing evangelists screaming and kicking and spouting ancient words every step of the way.

What I first thought of as a Global Town Square and as perhaps a variation of the old concept of the “global village” is nothing quite as I imagined it to be – today.

We all not in a physical town square anymore. We are in a virtual town square and it is the same in Iowa as it is in New York City. We cling to our homes, our worlds and we wrap ourselves in a bubble with cell phones, iPods, earphones, laptops and centered around the virtual Yellow Pages, Webster’s Dictionary and Sears Catalogue of the new age – the Internet. We reinforce our own view of the world instead of the other way around as it has been for centuries.

My need to be spiritual depends on me. I do not trust the moral authority of the Christian or Catholic Church that I have seen reshape itself into its own financial and survival mode self interests and at the expense I think of the people who once sat in the pews of churches. Even the intimacy of being in a small church or chapel to pray or meditate is dwarfed by Mega churches designed more for rock concerts than spirituality that I feel comfortable with.

Part of my reason for writing this blog has been to keep an ongoing interest and observation of the day to day lives of people in the domestic end of my street and all the way to the national culture generated from Hollywood, NYC or Wash. D.C.. The view I see today is a remarkable but twisted view through a prism.

What I see through that prism I sometimes do not grasp easily or understand but stand by in cautious curiosity and feel that no matter what I see or feel does not matter much. The world and the culture is evolving all around us. I only hope that the end results or the discernible results down the road somehow match what is now, has been and will hopefully remain a human culture.

The future has arrived! (and we all remain pilgrims in search of something)