What I hate about Mitt Romney

To be honest, the headline was a cheap ploy to get your attention...

I don't hate anything in particular about Mitt Romney... like every other candidate, he is far from perfect, but I hold loyal to him. Go ahead and attribute it to my Mormon upbringing, but I'm not one deluded enough to turn a blind eye to the critics of his record who make some valid points.

Here's what I hate about Romney: half the time I read any news story or blog entry about the highly polished, ridiculously rich and accomplished man, I don't hear a rational discussion.

Rather than discussing whether or not the former Governor is capable, experienced, and principled enough to competently run this country as President, the discussion somehow turns into a forum of religious bashing and persecution by those who wish to dwell on the differences, and peculiarities of the Mormon religion.

In a country that was founded on the premise of religious freedom and tolerance, it is shocking to see that Americans still have the audacity to slander and misconstrue the personal religious beliefs of a person in determining whether or not that individual is capable of leading the country towards the best interest of all Americans. Even more shocking, is that the majority of these contentious and divisive remarks are from those who consider themselves to be "Christian".

There is plenty to discuss, good and bad about Mitt's turnaround of the 2002 Olympics, and his four year term as the Massachusetts Governor. Most reviews of the two have been positive and in my opinion, all discussion around these subject matters are relevant to the question: Can this man effectively lead the country?

So why do I keep hearing about the Mormon issue instead of Mitt? If you look at the guy on paper, he's got what many consider to be a poster-boy pedigree of personal and professional accomplishments. For starters, Mitt is the son of a former Governor. His political and international experience began early on in life, from having served a two-year Mormon mission in France (yes, he speaks fluent French). Do you remember the 2002 Olympics? Could that possibly be considered international experience?

The man has a JD and an MBA from Harvard was a founding partner of Bain Capital, one of the most successful private-equity firms in the US. His personal wealth is estimated at over $250 Million, and all this after paying 10% to his Church. Should I stop here?

Mitt has managed to hold his own in the many interviews and debates this past year. His record can speak for itself, and yet the lingering discussion that people can't seem to shake centers on his religious beliefs. Fortunately for those of us who are rational, those who sling the religious mud typically prove their ignorance and fanatical nature once they open their mouth.

I've heard it all before, growing up Mormon.

"You guys believe in a different Jesus"
"Mormons are a cult"
"Joseph Smith was a fraud"
"Your church excluded Black leadership"
"You think you're going to be a God one day"
"You believe Jesus and Satan are Brothers"
"Your Book of Mormon is an attempt to discredit the Bible"

For a mainstream Christian to even begin to argue that these ideas are heretical, because they are far fetched is nothing more than the pot calling the kettle black. If you believe that our original parents were beguiled by a serpent, that Moses parted the Red Sea, that Jesus, the son of God, born of a Virgin healed the sick, raised the dead, and overcame death Himself - these common beliefs of ours are just as far fetched to a non-Christian as my beliefs may be to yours.

I served a two year mission, and I've heard every argument attempting to disprove our Doctrine. In my discussions with tens of thousands of people from different religions, cultures and countries, I've managed to learn quite a bit about every religion from mainstream Christianity to Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

Either way, I've matured enough to realize that any contentious discussion on the subject matter serves no good to either party. I've never won a convert by ridiculing or attempting to disprove his beliefs, and I've never been swayed from my beliefs by those who've set out to attack mine, even with the best of intentions. However, I've always managed to come away from a discussion a better man when a respectful discussion that builds on common beliefs occurs.

You want to prove me, and everyone else who doesn't know the "truth" wrong?
Go ahead and waste your time.
Waste everyone's time who has to sit through your narcissistic rant. You won't be winning any converts with your insulting and disrespectful approach.

Somehow in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, the question of one man's beliefs have become the rallying point for discussion on his qualifications for his candidacy. 2008 will be an election year to remember. When else have we had an African American, a Woman, and a Mormon as the front runners of their party? We're in an era of Change. We're no longer a country that forbids women to vote, and counts every African as only 3/5ths of a man.

This country was settled by brave souls in search of religious freedom and a land of tolerance. America wasn't settled by a women's suffrage movement, or a civil rights clan. I don't mean to demean the importance of these movements and the progress they brought about. But please, considering why our forefathers came here in the first places, how is it now that Americans can find it acceptable to listen to these ignorant, hateful, and bigoted remarks about Mormonism that permeate almost all discussion forums on Mitt Romney, and of those remarks, the overwhelming majority are completely irrelevant to the discussion.

And ironically... how is it that these same people, like any rational American won't even discuss the issue of Hillary being a Woman, or of Barrack Obama being black for fear of appearing sexist, racist and bigoted?

As an American, I have the right to choose whom and how I will worship. It is my personal obligation to respect the beliefs of others, no matter how different they are than mine. Even though I believe that the true Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith, I will not impose that belief upon anyone, nor will I have the arrogance to tell them that they are wrong, and are therefore going to hell.

To all you "Christians" who spend countless time peddling your judgmental, and arrogant worldview on the rest of us, consider this:

What if, in the end of this experience we call life, you find out that you were wrong?

Was all the hatred you taught, the half-truths you told, and the hypocritical judgment you passed on others worth doing in order to prove your point? Probably not when it turns out that you were wrong all along.

I know that you believe with every fiber of your being that you're right. I feel the same way about my faith. Consider that the same sentiment is felt by any convert who has changed their life, and made significant sacrifices to uphold religious principles. Consider those who are willing to die in the name of their God to stand by their testimony. Are you? I'll be the first to admit that we can't all be right.

So what if it is you who's wrong?

I ask myself the same question very often.

At the very least, I can say that I lived an imperfect life, but it was a life with a love for my family, my fellow man, and that I tried my best to lead a life of honesty. I'll tell you that my principles have given me a life that was largely spared from many of the present day problems like abuse, infidelity, and addiction.

So what if I am wrong about believing that Joseph Smith was a prophet? So what if it turns out Jesus never came to America, or that the afterlife ends up being nothing like the concept I've believed my whole life. Like those poor deluded Muslims, those blindly following Catholics, those brainwashed Jehovah's Witnesses, and those utterly pagan Hindus, this Crazy Mormon could end up being wrong....

Am I wrong for having lived a life that made me and my family happy?

My mother's parents, Swiss immigrants, converted to my religion despite being the trials of being born in a country that was even less tolerant than America. My father chose this path for himself at age 21, despite his childhood with alcoholic parents and their unfaithful marriage. I have personally experienced enough of the good and the bad to know that this is what I want. For life.

If you want to talk about what makes a man honest, successful, and qualified to be the President of the United States, look at what he's done with his life. Look at his family life, look at his personal accomplishments, and look at those who have crossed his path and genuinely know what it is like to work alongside him.

By their fruits shall ye know them.