Thursday, November 8, 2012

A little late night inspiration

It's nearly 10 pm and the dishes aren't done and we have no clean bottles so I can't just leave them until tomorrow.  I walked into the office collecting bottles and looking for my phone so I could listen to a podcast while I cleaned.  Then I got distracted and then I read this which is brilliant.

And per my m.o.(because I'm not sure all of you will click over and read it) I am going to quote a large portion of it here.  This is an open letter to all of the people (especially the mormons) on facebook who are posting about how the world is going to end now that Romney lost and how they are going to start stockpiling food (as a friend pointed out this could actually be just the economic push we need to really get the economy going. Well played Obama. Well played)


 Any time you hear that our country is getting more wicked, let me just let pictures tell you how I feel.
In this country, our moral issues are a little lopsided. We’re voting on this:

Instead of this:
Yep. We’re heading into moral decay alright. What, with our huge priorities in order. There’s nothing like two adults holding hands to bring in utter and awful devastation of children and the family. Oh wait…
Listen, I know money is tight. Times are rougher than you’ve seen for a while (unless you lived through the plague, the world wars, the great depression.) I’m not saying you have to be happy about it. Is ringing the bell of death knell really the way you want to react? Really?
That “end” you’re afraid of? The utter devastation and fear and poverty? The neighbor-stealing-your-food-at-gun-point sort of nightmare? Um, yeah. That’s already happened. It’s been happening for thousands of years.
You don’t want to lose your home or job. You’re worried about groceries and gas? Yeah, welcome to the rest of the world:
What? You don’t want to be like them? Me either, but I think we’re a ways from that.
Speaking of pride cycles, we might want to check ourselves if we start thinking that the end for us, looks like what 90% of the world looks like. We might want to see if maybe we’re a little spoiled if we watched those scary election results on our big screened TV’s in our warm homes and lamented on how “it’s all going to end.”


And for the rest of you who supported my candidate 

*****virtual high five*****

I can not wait to see what this man (and this amazing woman who is along side him) is/are going to do next! 



11 comments:

  1. Love this - thanks for being a voice of reason!

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  2. Look I don't like a lot of Obama's policies, I don't think he deserved the job again, and I'm a bit worried about where we'll be in 4 years. But yes, I think the apocalyptic stuff is overboard and frankly a bit embarrassing. I'm fairly sure that there would be a lot of Democrats who would be saying dramatic, off-the-wall stuff right now also had Obama lost so I think it's just part of the deal unfortunately.

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  3. So incredibly well-said. Perspective people! Rock on Obama!! High-five. :)

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  4. I do think hard-core conservatives are more prone to hyperbole. If Romney had won, I would be disappointed and worried for women's rights, struggling families, and the environment, but I wouldn't be stockpiling ammo. But whatever!

    I love you Sallee!

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  5. The moral decline of our society is important. When the church comes out and tells us to protect marriage, as a member who sustains the prophet, I will think that is an issue worth fighting for.
    I don't think the world is coming to an end because Obama is President. But it is ok if others do and prepare for it. I know for a fact my insurance will go up in Jan because of Obamacare so money will be tight. A 3 month supply of food will be good if times get rough.
    It is ok for me to get worried when an election doesn't go the way I think it should. It means I care about my country and want it to stay as great as it is now. No vote was wrong, just different.

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  6. Thank you Rebekah! Marriage is worth fighting for! I am one of those that thinks the end of the world is a little nearer thanks to Obama and no amount of peer pressure or belittling will make me think otherwise. We have been warned: "Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation
    We who supported Romney believe that it is very important to protect marriage because it is God's plan. I was here in California during the 2008 election when prop 8 was on the ballot and the prophet told us to do all that we can to make sure the proposition passes and we did. It did pass, did anyone listen, no. It was taken to the federal court where a judge overturned it, contrary to the voice of the people (who voted to uphold it twice!!). We have literally been ignored and overthrown. And the thought of a strong candidate who would defend marriage between a man and a woman and ensure that judges didn't just take matters into their own hands and ignore the voice of the people made me very hopeful. I am going to be bold here and say that that picture of the 2 women loving each other is literally calling evil good and good evil. Call me a bigot, I was called worse standing on the sides of the street promoting prop 8. I do not hate those that have same sex attraction, but I will not ever say it is ok to live in a homosexual relationship. It is not God's will for his children.

    And about the poor of the world. It makes me sad to see pictures of starving children, but if my husband doesn't have a job, our country is in an economic crisis, how can I ever help anyone else when I am worried about my own children? And taking more from an already struggling business man who had to lay off 50 employees in the last couple of years to keep the operation running is not the answer to the world's poverty. I strongly believe that America when it is healthy and thriving can do so much good. These were my hopes with Romney. And yes, I did cry when he lost and yes, I do think Obama with his liberal policies will single-handedly bring this nation to her knees. I am praying he doesn't. I guess we will all see what happens and learn to live with the consequences.

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  7. Emilee, I could not disagree with your positions more. Obama's win brought me deep relief. However, I do think that we *can* agree on the fact that both sides have developed a polarizing rhetoric guaranteed to keep everyone distracted and arguing for another few years.

    I want to return to what I see as the most important statement that Sallee wrote here: "Speaking of pride cycles, we might want to check ourselves if we start thinking that the end for us, looks like what 90% of the world looks like."

    We have things unbelievably, never-before-seen-in-history, outlandishly good in the USA. I think the fear of losing that hits a lot of folks really hard. Personally, I feel like American can handle it. We are a resourceful bunch, and over and over we show that political, religious, and ideological differences are not as strong as our shared desire to help one another. (That being said, I think Americans need to learn to consume less-- but that's another topic for another day.) What DO we base out pride upon? I'd like to see a country that prides itself on the compassion and gratitude of its people. And we have a long, long way to go on that measure.

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  8. Girl, you on FMH? So I wrote this on my facebook wall the other day "Brigham Young said that nobody would be saved unless they practiced polygamy (and he said that polygamy was an eternal principle). The Church was against equality for women and the Civil Rights (they said that it would destroy families). Now, guess what? Polygamy does not seem to be an eternal principle anymore, and equality for women and blacks did not destroy the world. Even a Church that claims to be from God is made up of men who make mistakes.
    The Church’s opinion about gay marriage may come from God or not, but I believe firmly on Joseph's words when he said "teach people correct principles and let them govern themselves." So I will not vote on laws that ban gay marriage, force people to cover their shoulders or stop drinking their coffee. If every person will be judged according to their actions, let them be free to choose according to the dictate of their own consciousness. As a Church, let’s worry about our covenants and not force our standards on others. If I recall well I think that is what “Satan’s Plan” was all about, wasn’t?"

    Also, this guy's view perfectly reflects my own opinion on that matter: http://networkedblogs.com/EwdtL

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  9. Sallee! First let me say to all those feeling like the end is near - as Ben would say , "They probably went to BYU & are a bunch of zoobies!" Zoobies is defined as a over zealous, self righteous, judgemental extremist which happen to be Mormon & happen to have attended BYU. In Ben's defense about 90 percent of BYU goers are normal & not over bearing, are doing their best to follow the Savior & not pass unfair judgement on others & do in fact treat others how they would like to be treated. But BYU just happens to have about 10% crazies.

    Anyhow, enough about all the extremists (they're in every culture, religion, family to some extent, etc....I mean look at Rachel Madow and Sean Hannity). So after the election I needed some spiritual perspective because unlike you I voted for Mitt & was devastated he didn't win. Ben laughed when he saw me crying & told me not to be so emotional. So basically I found myself reading anything to comfort my pathetic blues so to speak (also I'm still hormonal - just had a baby 4 months ago).

    Alright getting to my point... I was fortunate to stubble across this blog (http://middle-agedmormonman.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/one-last-post-mortem.html?m=1) which is very insightful! Also if you want to know why I voted for Mitt read this talk (http://www.latterdayconservative.com/howard-w-hunter/the-law-of-the-harvest/) by Howard W. Hunter. It explains perfectly how I view what is needed in the world. I respect your viewpoint & it is with kindness I disagree about Obama. I know America will prevail regardless of who is in office & my prayers are with those suffering from storm Sandy.

    Oh & congrats are in order because your little man Noah is adorable just like Claire! I'm also thrilled you're safe & I hope you don't mind me adding you to my blog. I'm horribly behind on my blogging... Well behind is actually a gross understatement but I hope by year 2014 I will be caught up to 2012. Love you Sallee!

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  10. The disintegration of the family began a long time ago. It's called sin, it's called pride. There are many many threats to the family unit. There are few in the world still upholding the traditional family unit, who defend the family, or who believe in having children at all. Latter-day Saints are among those who know how to fortify families - by living Christlike lives, by trying to emulate the life of Christ.

    Homosexuality is already normalizing in our culture whether it's on a ballot or not. That train is not stopping any time soon. I would have preferred to see less on the ballot regarding the definition of marriage and more of the things Sallee mentioned, for example. Or if not on the ballot, at least in the newsroom and in conversation. There is already enormous suffering and tragedy in the world. Are we really dividing ourselves over these things? We don't need more divisions among us. Is that our contribution?

    And don’t you think fear of an apocalyptic situation befalling America is looking beyond the mark? It is also just silly. and zooby. lol I'm right with rhorner79, that whatever happens we are strong and resourceful. Like all of the other amazing souls who occupy the planet.

    I think the messages our prophet is sending us today are simple, and timeless - love one another, give, serve.

    The results of the election are important but rather than throwing in the towel or celebrating victory, we could spend our thought and energy examining more pressing issues that seem to grow distant the more we bicker.

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