Bigotry and Democracy
Certain social ills like religious and racial bigotry, poverty, etc. will continue to plague the human race as long as men are free to make their own decisions. The question for a free society is therefore not how to eliminate bigotry but how to challenge it in a way that preserves our freedom. Every generation faces bigotry and must respond for better or for worse. Americans have been steadily working on problems of prejudice for centuries.
The Islamofacist bigotry that led zealots to hijack and crash airliners into buildings is clearly something Americans must not tolerate. President Bush’s response has been to replace terrorist-sponsoring governments in Afghanistan and Iraq with democracies, hoping that the new governments will become models for other troubled Islamic nations. The hope is that if Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, and other peoples with diverse and conflicting religious views (as well as a violent past) can learn to live together peacefully in a democracy, then other nations will follow suit. It’s a wild gamble –a gamble perhaps worth taking — but a gamble nonetheless.
Democracies by their very nature cannot be stronger than the character of their people. The Weimar Republic failed in Germany after World War I and led straight to the Third Reich. We still don’t know where the democracy in Russia will lead. History suggests it takes more than one generation for people to learn to value the ideal of democratic fairness more than their own uptopian dreams. Americans got off to a great start in 1789 with the Constitution, but by then they had been working steadily at principles of self-government for a hundred and fifty years. I don’t know how long it will take for the people of the Middle East to learn to live peacefully together, but it may take a long, long time. Look how long it took for white man and red man to learn to get along! On the other hand, post World-War II Germany and Japan seem to be flourishing as peaceful democracies.
The foundation of democracy is the conviction of the citizenry that it is better to be fair than to be right. This is basically the Golden Rule set in a political context. Citizens must love their neighbors’ rights as much as they love their own. In a nation of political equals, the rights of all are indistinguishable.
Religious bigotry is something we will always have with us, even in America. We have yet to see, for example, a Jewish President of the United States. It may be many years before we have a Mormon President or an Islamic President. We must expect a certain level of religious bigotry in any free country.
But when bigotry in America raises its ugly head, we have a right and a duty to challenge it. But not with bullets or bombs. I think John F. Kennedy gave us the pattern for combat in his 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. Challenging anti-Catholicism, then Senator Kennedy stated,
“If I should lose on the real issues, I shall return to my seat in the Senate, satisfied that I had tried my best and was fairly judged. But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being President on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser, in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people.”
Substitute the word “Mormon” for “Catholic” and “5 million” for “40 million” and you have a powerful weapon for combating Mormon haters. What made Kennedy’s speech so powerful was not just its eloquence but it’s irrefutable logic.
If it’s true that after two centuries of democracy, America is not ready for a Mormon in the White House, what message does this send to the Middle East? We have work to do.
Yeah, but so far… Mitt has done nothing for his country in the Senate.
BUT… Utah (R) Sen, Chris Buttars has done so much!
Kita Kazoo
February 16, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Kita: You are correct that Mitt served his country as Governor of MA, not as Senator. I haven’t been following Senator Buttars because I haven’t heard any news about him here in the Pacific Northwest. Whatever controversy Buttars may have ignited, I will acknowledge that no social group (Mormon, non-Mormon, Republican, Democratic, black, white, gay, straight, male, female, etc., etc. etc.) is immune from bigotry.
One of the liberal school boards in my area recently passed a resolution that said only whites can be bigots and that minorities by their vey nature cannot be bigots. I hope eveyone can see the fallacy of that kind of thinking.
northwestdoug
February 17, 2008 at 9:13 am
Please excuse my miscommunication.
My point is that when the members of a church allow people like Mr. Buttars to continue to abuse minorities and promote corruption, it gives that religion a bad name. If Mormons want to have a chance at having less religious bigotry directed their way they need to pay attention to the politics in their hive and remove those who do not have tolerance for others.
Utah politics do not just affect Utahans; they affect all members of the church.
Being from the Detroit area, I have seen reversed bigotry one too many times myself. I guess people are silly and unfair everywhere.
There is a tendency amongst the liberals to get carried way with them selves as “saviors” of society. Maybe, they are feeling guilty that inside they aren’t really any less of a bigot than those who will outright say so. (Like Mr. Buttars)
One thing is for sure, minority children know what it feels like to be treated in a racist fashion. The hard part is to teach them to not retaliate. This is where the adults have to step in and give all of them the same sensitivity training and have a fair and equal standard for all.
For instance when my children were small we had a no hitting rule. This meant no one hit a family member, even if they were hit first. This meant no spankings. This did not always mean our home was nonviolent, but it did teach them that retaliation had its consequences too.
Perhaps, since you are so very good at being diplomatic you should propose this type of standard, pointing out that it would be unfair to neglect the minority children by teaching them that only white people can be bigots.
Kita Kazoo
February 17, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Good point. You need to strive to understand others’ perceptions and experiences before you judge. I will admit that is hard to do. It takes strength and faith. People who are insecure (and most of us are insecure at least part of the time) are apt to feel threatened and react defensively when someone “pushes our buttons”, even in families. We are all imperfect. My children have taught me more about my weaknesses and about life than I could have ever imagined. Thanks for your thoughts.
northwestdoug
February 17, 2008 at 4:19 pm