Monday Morning Rant 30

Although I avoid out and out partisan politics, my attention has been drawn this week to the speech by Barak don’t-use-my-middle-name Obama. If you have doubts about which speech, you have my sympathies for your broken TV, radio, internet and interrupted delivery of your newspaper. To say the reaction of the voting public is not conclusive is to ignore the result of every pollster and pundit.

For those who have suffered this loss (?) he brought forth an apologetic to cover the outrageous diatribes of one of his close mentors and campaign advisors. Clouded in denial and pleading lack of awareness of Rev. Wright’s twenty-year presence in the pulpit of Obama’s church, he used his superb rhetorical skills to make his case. There was little in the remarks to advance the thought that we have made any progress in this country toward achieving any racial balance.

Each of us, I believe, has an anecdotal view of race relations. Many of us plead, “Some of my best friends are black.” Others recall a friendship or an unfortunate encounter. We tend to form opinions based on these isolated experiences and formulate an outlook thereon. Unless you are professionally occupied in research into the social sciences, this limited exposure will assure a very restricted and highly subjective view of the issue.

Living in Las Vegas until 2003, we experienced a constant interaction with a very large black community. I found there the usual mix of people one encounters in any large group. There were plenty of capable, intelligent, responsible and generally likeable folks. Within the demographic were also bums, liars, cheats, welfare queens and other unsavory characters. That is to say, seeing them as a group was pretty much like looking at our congress. To formulate an reliable stereotype would be not only impossible but also unreasonable. Observation of other large racial and foreign national groups had the same result.

Living in the Ozarks since has deprived us of the interaction with any measurable number of blacks. The largest sub-group here is people of Mexican origin. In this circumstance, we are more dependent upon others for information rather than relying upon our own personal experience. As usual, that is a dangerous path to follow. The experts (?) also form their evaluations on personal encounters. That doesn’t mean they are wrong but rather that they are not always right.

You and I, as Latter Day Saints, should have a clear understanding of being subject to the outcome of misinformation and prejudice. Our predecessors bore the brunt of being run out of town, tarred and feathered, and even murdered for their beliefs. Even today, Book of Mormon believers are accused of not being Christian. This prejudice is predicated upon ignorance. I would hope that this history would leave us better prepared to deal with current representations of prejudice by everyone (black, white, etc.) who is offering an opinion.

Mr. Obama, a word of advice: we are known by the company we keep so perhaps it would be well to completely disassociate yourself from the reverend Jeremiah Wright.
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In the oft-repeated lies department, I have just recently become aware of some interesting allegations and the truth about them:

1. The US is dependent upon Persian Gulf oil supplies.
Fact: We import only 15.2% of our crude oil from Persian Gulf countries.

2. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of US imported crude oil.
Fact: Canadian imports are 164% of Saudi imports, Mexico is 112% of Saudi imports and our own gulf coast produces 200.5% more than Saudi imports.

3. Crude oil production is steadily on the rise.
Fact: Production from July 07 to Dec 07 declined evenly by 9.4%.

If you have any interest in advancing gasoline prices, I suggest you refer to number 3 to find part of the answer. It’s a matter of supply and demand. Lower production equals a lesser supply. That lower supply results in a higher end price because demand remains consistent. You still have to get to work, shop, and go to church. I know it’s always nice to assign the blame to a huge corporation or the government, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here.

Again we have the oft repeated warning about the abundance of false information being distributed by the agenda driven. Beware the snake oil salesmen who would fill your head with untruth.
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On this most sacred of all days, the celebrated resurrection of our Savior, I came across this entry. I will cite it intact, without commentary, so you may form your own thoughts. It appeared in The Corner On Line and was authored by Mark Steyn.

“Keep the Christ in Christmas... .
..but take Him out of Easter:

The pastors at this church in Raleigh, North Carolina, were perplexed when they saw the Holy Week Sunday school lessons for preschoolers from "First Look," the publisher of the one to five year-old Sunday school class materials. There wasn't a mention of the resurrection of Jesus. Naturally, the pastors inquired about the oversight. It turns out it was no oversight...

'Easter is a special time in churches,' the letter from the publisher says. 'It's a time of celebration and thankfulness. But because of the graphic nature of the Easter story and the crucifixion specifically, we need to be careful as we choose what we tell preschoolers about Easter..'

So now the story ends with the Last Supper - and presumably afterwards Jesus and His friends watch Elmo and then go to bed. That the foundational event of your faith is now excessively "disturbing" is almost too parodic a reductio of the Wimp Christianity of the mainline churches.”

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon