America's secret religious bias

Ask any American if they think it is ok to discriminate on the basis of religion and they will probably say that it is unacceptable. In the July 25th article by Mark Mellman in The Hill Mellman cites statistics in which only 5% of the population would be unwilling to vote for a black or 12% for a Hispanic (obviously not religions.) But only 4% would not vote for a Catholic and 7% for a Jew. (http://thehill.com/mark-mellman/romney-and-the-mormon-question-2007-07-25.html)

So we can safely assume that Americans in general aren't biased when it comes to religion, right? Ok, so now ask about Mormons. The range in polling suggests that 24-43(!) percent of Americans would not vote for a Mormon. Huh! What happened to no religious litmus test for politics? What happened the the open mindedness of America? What happened to the oft quoted "separation of church and state?"

Americans want to think that they are enlightened, intelligent and willing to keep open minds. But the fact of the matter is whether you want Mitt Romney for President or not, his being Mormon should have 0 affect on how people vote, but it does.

(Now, full disclosure, not only am I Mormon, but I want Romney to win. Not because he is a Mormon but because he is a businessman who knows how to run things. Look at his record. I am not going into it because that isn't what this post it about.)

So ask yourself if you really are open minded? If you were asked about the qualifications of a Presidential candidate and agreed with what he was saying but the only thing that would keep you from voting for him what would that say about you? Sure, you might be open minded for a Catholic, Jew, Lutheran, etc. If it wasn't for the war on terror I would even be making this case for a Muslim.

It is simple bigotry that any individual would not vote for a candidate because of his religious background. And if you are a Democrat saying it doesn't matter because there is no way a Mormon would get anywhere near the left, you might want to see the religion block on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid-yep, Mormon.

Pro war

Have you ever noticed that there are “anti-war” protests that get on the news every few months or some “peace activist” is on TV raging against how the Iraq or Afghanistan war is wrong and calling on the population to stand up and be heard? Have you ever wondered why there aren’t “pro-war” gatherings? Think about it. If you are anti-war then you are seen as a peaceful, loving person. But if you are in support of the war in Iraq and REALLY support the troops and the President then you just sit at home and shake your head at the peaceniks.
Well, maybe this will help you look at things another way. Back in 2003 the U.S. Census Bureau put the total number of military personnel at 1.4 million. That number has most likely increased because of the congressional approval to add troops. But what does that really mean? First, try a visual exercise. Instead of thinking about 1.4 million soldiers in a fight or training, picture, say 2/3 of those soldiers (stretching and saying 1/3 of soldiers are somehow against the President) in front of the Washington Monument in a “Support the War.” What would that look like? Still nearly 1,000,000 soldiers who are pro-defense, pro-military and pro-fighting foreign and domestic foes! So why don’t soldiers have a mass march? Well day there are 1.2 million active Soldiers, Airmen, Seamen and Marines that go to work in support of WAR. Yep, and there are another 200,000 people that monthly attend reserve training in case they go to war as well. So these soldiers aren’t standing in one spot gathered together but instead are away from family, friends and loved ones fighting side by side and in a sense shoulder to shoulder with every other soldier around the globe. Now, obviously not every soldier supports the war (you just have to watch CNN or MSNBC who will show any soldier opposed to the war) but the majority of us do. We understand that war is part of human existence. We understand that without us jokers like Cindy Sheehan won’t have the right to make fools of themselves and protest the war (by the way Cindy, where were you when your son enlisted?) So if you turn on CNN, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News or other evening news and see someone “standing up” against the war, just remember that there are 1.4 million of us who are not only standing up but shooting back to keep the rights of those who are against the war in place. Without the American military those people on TV would be speaking German, Japanese or Russian. And if you would be ok with that then you have the right to say so. Just remember, it is protected by those whom you protest against.