Accepting Differing Opinions

April 18, 2010

“For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise.” - Benjamin Franklin

The more I learn, the less I know. On the other hand, the more I learn, the more sure I am about certain things. For one, people have many different views and perspectives of the world. This is not a new phenomenon. It is not an earth-shattering revelation. And yet, it is a slightly novel idea to me in some respects.

You see, growing up, I was taught that there was only one "right" way to think - about religion, and about politics. I was not taught to have respect for those views that were contrary or distinct in some way to mine. Rather, I was basically taught to ridicule those ideas as inferior, because if people were intelligent, they would obviously come to same conclusions that I had reached in my life.

I have since just started to scratch the surface of learning the wonder of a world full of diversity. There are myriad religions, political parties, clubs, and family arrangements. While they are not all exactly in agreement with the way I conduct my life, I rejoice in the differences, and the similarities. I strongly detest those who mock others' ways of viewing the world.

I also question the need to mock and/or be defensive with regards to one's own beliefs. To me these days, an excessive amount of defensiveness, or invoking of the persecution card, or belittling of others, may be nothing more than insecurity on the part of the individual doing such acts. If one has a conviction and a confidence about what they believe, they need not feel a need to act in such a way. Security in belief is best reflected in accepting fully that others have different viewpoints, and that is okay.

Accepting differing opinions is the first step in opening up the mind and the intellect to view the world in a whole new spectrum/paradigm/light. I am so glad that I took the risk to understand the world better, and to have more respect for as many perspectives and views as possible. I invite anyone to make the jump.

A Long Journey - Moving Forward

April 10, 2010

It has been sometime since I have given a strong opinion on this issue or that. I often have a hard time capturing an accurate description of my philosophies because they seem to always be evolving as I gain newer information. I try to avoid labels because they don't help; they only bring on overgeneralized stereotypes and judgmental reactions.

Over the last several years I have been on a long journey. I remember several years ago thinking how I wanted to be able to understand opposing points of view without becoming furious all the time, which at the time was how I always seemed to react. Back then I was a bloody red conservative. I could have never imagined that actually making the decision to look at differing views as objectively as possible would change my entire world view so drastically.

I now can accept others' viewpoints as just as valid as mine, in the context of their experiences and worldview. This does not undermine the fact that my perspective is just as valid - for me. In my view, this is much more realistic in relation to how the world really turns today. Diversity is the rule, and I have come to embrace that fact, with the idea in mind that we still have more in common than we have differences.

I do not regret questioning the long-held beliefs of my youth, even though it has caused some friction now and again with some of my closest associations. While I feel I have walked this path despite the uncertainty of where it would lead, I can see why some might believe I am just another example of why people generally are afraid to take those first tenuous steps. It is scary and uncomfortable changing viewpoints and being humble enough to admit you may have been wrong, or that you might even be wrong now. A lot of times along the way I have felt like I was losing my faith because so many things I thought were rock solid beliefs started to crumble before my eyes. But I continue to hang on to things I have always valued greatly, and the other things I let go of.

It has taken me awhile, but I am getting comfortable having views that contradict some of the things I was taught growing up, at church, at school, at home. I feel I am nearing the point where I can talk about those 'aberrant' beliefs openly, regardless of the consequences. I hope to do so in a respectful way. And I hope to bring a perspective that can verify that my perspective and views are not crazy, or unfounded. I hope that someday I can be a comfort to others who feel they have 'unorthodox' political, religious, or social views, to help them feel they are not alone - as I have often felt at times during my journey - and that having differing views does not make them wrong.

The Book of Mormon on Riches, Terror, Secret Combinations

The prophet Joseph Smith said "the Book of Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

I would not be surprised if many libertarians and Ron Paul supporters are not Latter-Day Saints or affiliated with offshoot religions that still use the Book of Mormon. Among the most common themes addressed by the book's prophets are the issues of love of riches, pride, and secret combinations. I will try to put our current "war on terror" in a Book of Mormon perspective and try to argue why conventional thinking about the current political system in our country may be extremely misguided.

While the current prosperity in the United States can be arguably God-given because we are a God-fearing and righteous nation, I think this argument has been the excuse to allow starvation and suffering inexplicably among our own people, but even more among the peoples of the world. To buttress my claims, I will use as a source The Book of Mormon Reference Companion by Largey, as well as the book itself, and other words of modern LDS prophets.

First, the Reference Companion says "in addition to being a source of pride (2 Ne. 28:15; Alma 4:6; Hel. 3:36, 7:26; 3 Ne. 6:10,12), riches are also used to support wickedness (Mosiah 11:13-14);...they can divide societies into classes and ranks (3 Ne. 6:12, 4 Ne. 1:24-26); they are the foundation of materialism (Alma 31:24, 27-28; Hel. 7:21); and they lead to secret combinations (Hel. 6:17). It is obvious that these signs of riches are seen all over our society today. Meanwhile one must understand that secret combinations go unperceived simply because secret combinations are just that: secret. However, they are also all over our society today; even among our highest government officials.

2 Ne. 28:14 says: "They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men."

Simply put, we are compelled to change our ways of viewing and worshiping God from all sides. From elimination of prayer in public, to elimination of the Bible in any public affairs, to the fight to strip the Pledge of Allegiance of the words "one nation under God," the government has become a sort of "false God." The government has been set up to take care of us, thus becoming a substitute for the true Father of our country.

But looking into verse 14 more deeply, is it not accurate to say that our views on our society and the government currently are shaped almost exclusively by the government and the educational system set up by said institution? Therefore, many are ignorant, either outright or willingly, and even the few are caused to stumble because of the "precepts of men." One precept of men that is becoming more prominent is the idea that our founding fathers were not inspired men - rather they were no better than terrorists today. The peddlers of this believe explain that the tactics used by the founders in their warfare against England were similar to the tactics terrorists use today. Therefore, the Constitution has little use in these different, more sophisticated times. If this is not an evil position, I don't know what is. In truth, I am not as put off by the comparison as I may sound. With today's ever more broad definition of terrorist, just about anyone who challenges the status-quo in any way might be labeled a terrorist. The founders definitely challenges the top-down government emanating out of London, the policies of which were similar to those of our current government in too many ways.

Such talk immediately demonstrates that our ways of thinking are skewed not only by our indoctrination by the powerful, but also by the pride and ease that have come as a result of our riches.

Hel. 6:17 says "the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world that they had not been stirred up to anger, to wars, nor to bloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches; yea, they began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another..."

Despite the current political climate and various wars on multiple fronts taking place today, most of us have not had to worry about fighting or even thinking war, and we have enjoyed several years if not decades of ease enjoying the riches of the world. Complete with million-dollar homes, fancy cars, HDTV's, fine clothes, we see examples of this all around us. Meanwhile people are starving left and right and we are told that we deserve our wealth, that we earned it, that the poor are poor because the government welfare state made them that way, or because they are lazy.

Here again we see "precepts of men" creeping in. How is it not an outrage that the U.S. - five percent of the world's total population - consumes 25% of the world's goods and commodities? Yet thousands of people die every day from starvation around the world, and this suffering is compounded by the policies of western states, especially the United States today. The idea that this is an inspired nation was not meant to be a pretext to make us feel we are better than everyone else.

While we go around after the riches of the world, families are torn apart, children's lives are severely harmed, if not destroyed. Yet returning to God and family is yet another "extremist" idea. Yes, the presidential candidates, particularly on the republican side will say we need to return to family, but the evidence shows that these same individuals when placed in power will continue to increase the grip of the federal government and will do anything in their means to assure that the U.S. still controls a disproportionate amount of the world's goods as the planet's only super power.

Since we see all around us the effects of the love of riches, and of pride, it is then easy to expect to have present many forms of secret combinations, even among our most "pious" government officials. Hel. 7:4-6 says: "Seeing the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the judgment-seats - having usurped the power and authority of the land; laying aside the commandments of God, and not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the children of men;

"Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and moreover, that they might more easily commit adultery, to steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills-

"Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years."

These symptoms of secret combinations are all around us. We have seen our country go to war against an unknown foe for an unknown stretch of time. Thousands of our brave men and women have been killed along with tens of thousands of the innocent. While soldiers are often prosecuted for missteps and crimes they performed, the leaders of the military have walked away blameless. Yes, some like Donald Rumsfeld have lost their jobs, but they have not taken any responsibility for the ugly scene they've helped to create among the people in Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of corporate welfare and "capitalistic" seizing of more of the world's resources.

Look at who President Bush appoints as his leaders: almost without exception they are old elite friends who got rich as leaders of large corporations. When they leave their assignments in the government, they will still be rich, but the world will suffer more because of their actions.

All of these arguments seem inappropriate since the real threat is the one to which we have surrendered ourselves which the government has used to cunningly scare us into submission of our God-given rights and privileges. Yes, another "precept of men" that is looming over us. God gives us our freedom, and government is charged to protect those rights.

But there are the real secret combinations out there: the modern form of Gadianton Robbers - the al-Quaeda's, the Hamas's, the Hezbollah's. What does the Book of Mormon say about them?

We read these words in Hel. 7:23-25: "...it shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent. For behold, they are more righteous than you, for they have not sinned against that great knowledge which ye have received...and ye have united yourselves unto it, yea, to that secret band which was established by Gadianton."

This prophet is speaking to the people of Nephi - the Christians of their day. The Lamanites, of whom he refers were the "non-believers." The entire theme of the Book of Mormon is that the people would be blessed if they turned to God, and they would be punished if they turned away. The Lamanites also had interaction with the secret combination of Gadianton, who was the first leader of the band in that time. However, the Nephites seemed to unite themselves more freely to this secret group, and it led to their destruction, as well as the destruction of the people of Ether, who lived in this land before the Nephites.

The message is clear, and it has been repeated to us in contemporary times by leaders of the church, as well as leaders of the United States: that the country would not falter unless it was defeated from within.

While I do not diminish the fact that there are certain individuals in the world who would kill themselves and others to send a message to the world, I am coming to see more and more that the supposed "war on terror" is a scheme of deflection. This way we focus our attention to some unknown, outside threat, and thus remain oblivious to the widespread takeover of our government by members of secret societies, or puppets (our politicians) of the aforementioned. It is clear that this fact threatens the very existence of our nation more than any amount of damage a bin Laden or Ahmadinejad could inflict upon us.

We are the ones who have been blessed of God. We are the ones who are turning from Him after he has bestowed so much on our heads. But because of the precepts of men, we are largely unaware of the current danger surrounding us. We are told that "we" are good and "they" are evil. Meanwhile, our leaders commit sometimes horrendous acts for which they will never answer. Just like in secret combinations, they are above the law.

President Ezra Taft Benson, the thirteenth president of the Church said these chilling words in one of his final testimonies: "I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. (See D&C 1:14–16; D&C 84:49–53.) It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world. (See Ether 8:18–25.)"

That address was given nearly twenty years ago. If the Nephites were able to degenerate in a matter of not many years, and President Benson said a secret combination was increasing its hold over the world, how could we be so self-satisfied to think that it is not there, right in front of us, but we are unaware.

We are unaware because of imagined enemies. We are unaware because of meaningless issues being debated on the corporate-owned media outlets. We are unaware because of the false left-right paradigm. We are unaware because we are watching football and American Idol and Survivor all day long. We are unaware because although we are skeptical of the worthiness of our public servants, we are still a "pretty good country" so things can't be that bad.

Ron Paul is giving an outlet to people who have not had a voice among Democrats or Republicans for many elections. He is bringing up issues that the mainstream do not want us to be aware of. After all, if the most sinister plot of all was made common knowledge, that we are told we are a democratic free people while our rights are being torn right from our outstretched arms, the powerful might lose their power and dominion over us. That is something that they will do anything to avoid; even murder, plunder, commit adultery, declare war, etc.

May we open our eyes and start learning about the real issues that are being avoided by our very politicians, media, and presidential candidates today. Find out that change is a must, and change will not come by walking down the same millionaire democrat/republican one-way dead-end street.