Mitt Romney & The Mormon Question

Danny Ainge, Billy Barty, Laraine Day, Jon Heder, Dean Jagger, Orrin Hatch, Wally Joyner, Harmon Killebrew, Marie Osmond, Gladys Knight ... Wait a minute!! Gladys Knight!!! Yes Gladys and all those named above and five million more in the USA are all members of the Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons).

I am not a Mormon. I am not a fan of Mitt Romney. But damn it if I'm not going to come to his and anyone else's defense when it comes to the current insidious religious test that is bedeviling Mr. Romney's campaign to become the GOP nominee for President.

In my last posting I reacted to the Bible question posed on the CNN/YouTube debate. With the recent announcement that Mitt Romney is going to make a "Kennedy" style speech this Thursday, I wanted to keep the heat on this issue. None of the men (and one woman) running for the presidency should have to be put to any test whatsoever that calls into question their religious integrity. It is none of our business. Period!!

But in an open society with media hanging out everywhere, it seems that people have come to expect to know every minute detail of these politicians' lives. What is their wife like? Have their children stayed out of trouble? What diseases are they susceptible to? And on and on until religion is now being brought into the public square.

Did you recognize any of the names above. Perhaps you know the acting small person, Billy Barty? How about Napoleon Dynamite, Jon Heder? If you follow baseball, you should recognize former Twins slugger, Harmon Killebrew. And yes, Ms. Knight has been a Mormon for some ten or so years. You know about these people but you probably did not know much about their religious convictions. Did it matter? Did you root for the Killer when he was knocking out homers in the sixties? Did you enjoy the small town ambiance that Heder brought to the screen? Most assuredly, you have swayed to the tunes belted out by Gladys.

The point is, that these Mormons are no different than you or me. The names listed above are some of the more famous ones. There are others. There are even millions of others who are you neighbors, your children's teachers, your postal carriers, etc. And yes, there are some who have resorted to crime and drugs and have failed as good citizens.

Let us stop prying around to find the perfect candidate. We should base our votes on policies espoused by the contenders. We should look at their public records to see their potential as leaders. There needs to be an outcry to stop this sectarian persecution.