No Coincidences

Tag: Democrat

  • Republican

    Republican

    Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, I listened to an amazing, interesting, and intriguing podcast. This podcast hypothesized what would happen if Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and refused to give up the presidency. The podcast didn’t just hypothesize, they did a full-on war game.

    For those who don’t know, a war game is a military tactic to simulate an armed conflict between two sides. One general will make a decision – where troops go, where to attack, etc. and someone else plays the enemy, making counter moves. You attack here, I move my troops there.

    That is what this podcast did. It was described as “a political choose your own adventure.” So there were multiple teams: a Biden campaign team, a Trump campaign team, GOP elected officials team, Democratic elected officials team, a media team, and so on. The teams were presented with a scenerio and then they watched the teams respond. A literal political war game.

    What’s crazy is, I did some Google searching and couldn’t find the podcast. Why? Because no matter what I search, it comes up with a real result. For example –

    “Podcast about experiment if Trump didn’t give up 2020 presidency.”

    “Podcast about if Trump refused to give up the presidency in 2020.”

    These searches come up with REAL RESULTS. Does anyone realize how crazy that is?

    This podcast went through four scenarios. The one that they focused on was what would happen if the 2020 election results were ambiguous? In any close race there becomes some level of amiguous results.

    Do you know how some of those experiments ended? Protestors in the street. Everything short of civil war. The podcast noted that they had to cut some of their scenerios short because things got out of hand so quickly and the participants started to become unnerved at what they were learning.

    When I listened to that podcast originally, no joke, my first thought was, “oh this is how democracy in America collapses. Trump is going to refuse to accept election results and we’re going to have a civil war.”

    How close we came. I don’t think the average American knows how close we came to our democratic system falling apart. If not for a courageous decision by Mike Pence to defend democracy, that’s where we were headed. Mike Pence ended up getting death threats by members of his own party for that decision.

    Let me pause real quick. You probably think, after reading thus far, where my allegiances lie in politics, or even who I voted for in 2020. You’re wrong. That’s all I’m going to say. My own wife doesn’t even know who I voted for in 2020. Well, she “knows,” but I’ve never said it. She can guess. My point is, I’ve had to take a look at some things I value.

    When Putin invaded Ukraine and Donald Trump talked about how it was a smart move, that’s when I had to rethink some things, personally. It was a one-off statement. Except if you take into account January 6th and Donald Trump’s apparent feelings about power, it becomes a much bigger statement.

    Here’s the thing.

    What if the election was rigged? What if those sneaky Democrats, and the media, and blah blah blah conspiracy. Look, I’m right there with you on conspiracies. Ask my wife, I’m all about conspiracies. It annoys her. Maybe those dirty Democrats did rig the election to destroy our country. Whatever. I say whatever not to make light of our country being “destroyed.” I don’t mean to make light of politics and the seriousness of say, a legitimately rigged election, like what happens in Russia. I say whatever to lead into this –

    What if the election was rigged?

    Then every election was rigged. Why did the Democrats rig the 2020 presidential election but not the congressional one?

    Don’t send me all this evidence about voter fraud and blah blah blah. I’m sorry, stop it. Enough.

    If the election was rigged, then it just all falls apart. Then there is no democracy, there is no voting, there is no America. There is only insurrection. There is vying for power. There is civil war.

    That’s where we’re headed when we deny election results. Period.

    Maybe you believe your candidate got screwed out of the election. Maybe he really did.

    What happens if Trump wins 2024? Are results accepted then?

    What happens if he loses 2024? Does he accept those results? (Answer to that seems obvious).

    Are we, Republicans, going to support the path to civil war? Are you that big of a supporter of Donald Trump? What has he done to earn this devout loyalty of yours?

    Can we all just shake our heads and get out of this spell for a second? Donald Trump is not the Republican party. When did that happen? When did it become the party of Donald Trump? It’s so crazy to me to take a step back and look at sometimes. How did we get here?

    I’m a firm believer in Republican values, policies, ideologies. But are those ideologies worth ending democracy? Worth civil war?

    I don’t think so.

    Specifically in Arizona, we just finished a primary where the Republican nominee for governor claimed the election was rigged… even after she won.

    When I lose a game in pickup basketball, I don’t argue fraud. I don’t go back and reconsider the process of a pickup basketball game, and call fouls that previously happened. When I start a pickup basketball game, I agree to the unspoken rules of a pickup basketball game. I agree that we call our own fouls and if my team ends up with less points at the end of the game, then our team is off the court.

    A similar analogy applies to teenage boys playing video games. Teenage boys go into a video game prepared to cry that they were cheated or that the game wasn’t fair. “How did he no scope me!? I shot him ten times and he didn’t die!” I’m out of touch with teenagers, hip lingo, and video games, so “the kids” might be saying some other phrase nowadays. Teenage boys are consistent though, that they don’t lose, they get cheated.

    I know these aren’t perfect analogies. But I still believe it illustrates an important point.

    Our Republican candidates are already decrying fraud and a corrupt election even before it starts. They’re going into a pickup game saying the game is rigged. They’re prepared, when they lose, to call fouls after the fact. This isn’t how it works. When did the Republican party become teenage boys, crying about a rigged game before it even starts?

    This, in my opinion, is wholly unacceptable. You’re playing the game; you’ve agreed to the rules. Don’t run if you’re going to refuse to accept results that don’t favor you. Can you imagine that person in pickup basketball? Every time they lose, they refuse to get off the court and claim they actually won? That person would be immediately ostracized and removed from the game. Nobody would put up with that. Why do we put up with it in politics? It’s unacceptable. Lose with dignity. If the results come back and a candidate is unhappy with the result, say the words, “I lost, I concede.”

    That’s it. There is no other way.

    Well, maybe there is another way, in their minds: insurrection, force, civil war. I don’t want representatives representing me who claim fraud even if results favor them, akin to teenage boys.

    I know this will be very polarizing for some to ready. Surprisingly, it might have been polarizing to me a few months ago. By all means, I would love to have a candid discussion about this with anyone. Thoughts welcome. I would love to hear from those who support Donald Trump above all else. For example, I know the analogy of don’t play pickup basketball if you can’t play by the rules will have some say, “well then we just don’t run for office, or try? We just give over our values to the other party?” I know it’s not a perfect analogy. But what I’m saying is this:

    If you go down this rabbit hole of conspiracy, fraud, and rigged elections, then America as we know it is over. That’s it. Then it will be rioting in the streets, open warfare, civil war. If that’s what you believe needs to happen, if you’re that opposed to the other party’s ideologies and the risk of them winning an election, then ok, burn the whole thing to the ground. I disagree. But on that one, we’ll definitely have to agree to disagree.

    I HATE writing about politics. But I had to share my thoughts on this. Donald Trump still hasn’t accepted 2020’s election results. What happens when he denies 2024’s? Or, what happens when he wins 2024, but doesn’t want to be done in 2028 after serving 2 terms? If you can refuse to accept you lost an election, would it really be that shocking to refuse to only serve two terms?

    Then Donald Trump gets, potentially, his wish. He becomes Vladimir Putin.

    I don’t know about you, but that’s a scary thought, to me.

    P.S. It helped creatively to say I couldn’t Google search that podcast. Of course, I could go through my phone and find the played podcast. It’s a podcast called “Radiolab.” It is an episode titled “What if?” from October 22, 2020. Definitely go listen to it.

  • The Glory of the Sun

    The Glory of the Sun

    I recently finished a book that was so packed with wisdom I couldn’t come close to taking it all in.  Every page provided a new insight.  Every thought was provoking.  It is amazing to walk through the minds of men and women so in touch with the spirit or some form of knowledge I don’t yet have.  It’s my favorite part of reading.  From reading his words and thoughts I could feel his closeness to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and therefore come closer to them myself.

    The name of the book was The glory of the sun which refers to 1 Corinthians 15:41:

    “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”

    Doctrine and Covenants 76:70 reads:

    “These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.”

    Sterling W. Sill, author of this book, was a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He was asked to share a series of gospel messages each week for a year over the radio.  The series was called “Sunday Evening from Temple Square.”  Those 52 addresses were put into this book.  It’s amazing to see that so many unique and powerful messages can come from one individual. 

    Sterling W. Sill

    Every message was so good, I could randomly turn to a page and share an important thought.  There was one in particular I found pertinent to our current moment in history.

    Elder Sill shared his messages at the height of the cold war so there is an emphasis of freedom and liberty throughout. 

    In one of his addresses titled “Five grains of Corn” Elder Sill reviewed the custom of Thanksgiving.  Elder Sill pointed out that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday.  It is a day we give thanks to our ancestors who bravely came here and suffered through much hunger, affliction, and death.  He reminded me that during Thanksgiving we give “deep gratitude.. for the rich productivity of American soil.”

    I believe it is important for us to remember the blessed nation we are fortunate to live in.  The United States of America is a chosen land.  One thought Elder Sill presented was the idea that we live more lavishly and comfortably today than any king in history.  He pointed out that if we had to live as King Solomon, even in all the glory of his palace and kingdom, it would be a great hardship to us.

    What a thought!  The average person in America lives with more comfort than any historical king!  How blessed we are and how often we take for granted this great nation we live in.  It truly is a promised land. 

    What has always separated America from any other nation is our freedom – the freedom that gives us the ability to worship our God however we please. If you look at the short history of the United States it becomes quickly apparent what separates us.  It is the freedom we enjoy, particularly religious freedom.  It saddens me that as a nation we are turning from the God who has so blessed us.  It is part of the agency God has given us, the freedom this nation is founded on, that currently allows so many to turn from God.

    This paragraph from the book rings so familiar to our current landscape that I will quote it in whole.  Elder Sill says:

    “In the United States we have just gone through a great political election to decide who would represent us in the governing councils of our country for the next four years.  We have been sharply divided on issues and people.  We have settled the matter by an appeal to the ballot box.  No blood was shed, no life was in danger, no one had any thought of trying to liquidate his opponent.  No one even pounded with his shoe or threatened to throw it at anyone.  Now all Americans will settle down and give full support to the government that they, under God, have created.  Now we will all unite in building a greater America and help to carry out our divine mission to promote freedom, justice, and happiness in the world.”

    Election day is tomorrow.  It is my sincere prayer that we as a nation can unite and support whoever wins this election.  It is my prayer that there is no bloodshed, danger, threats, or pounding of feat.

    The final and important point Elder Sill gives in this message is about our faith in God that I have already mentioned.  Specifically, the devotion to His Son, Jesus Christ. 

    The Mayflower Compact, written by those coming to settle a new America reads, “We whose names are underwritten have undertaken for the glory of God to establish in Virginia the first colony for the advancement of the Christian faith.”

    The New England Federation Compact Agreement reads similarly, “We all have come into these parts of America with one and the same end, namely to advance the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

    I hope we can remember our Thanksgiving for this promised land.  I hope we can remember the freedoms and liberties we enjoy, and how great it is to be a part of the democratic process.  Finally, I hope we can remember who it is our ancestors came to America to serve, who’s kingdom they wished to establish. 

    “America was established as a kind of laboratory or experiment station to show what would happen to any people who cared and dared to follow Jesus Christ.” – Elder Sill.

    How blessed our ancestors were and how blessed we’ve been as we’ve looked to Jesus Christ.  I hope that can continue.

  • -ites: Politics

    -ites: Politics

    4 Nephi 1:16-17

    16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

    17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.

    After Christ came and established peace in the land, we have the above account from 4 Nephi in the Book of Mormon.  Before Christ came there had been many contentions – different denominations, different groups and sects.  Sound familiar?

    The world we live in today is full of envyings, strifes, tumults, whoredoms, lyings, murders, and all manner of lasciviousness.  We are separated into so many groups of -ites.

    Let’s take a look at a few of the categories we separate ourselves into:

    • Poor, middle, upper class
    • Educated and uneducated.
    • Religious and non religious
    • Asian, American, African, Hispanic, European, Russian, etc.

    Believers in Christ separate themselves:

    • Catholic
    • Baptist
    • Lutheran
    • Latter-day Saint
    • Non-denomination

    Even Latter-day Saints have their separations:

    • Member and nonmember
    • Return missionary and non-return missionary
    • Convert and pioneer heritage

    Factions and divisions are prevalent no matter how small a group is broken down into in society. Sometimes it feels like if two people were put in a room they would only find things to disagree on. I list all these groups and ways we separate ourselves to lead to a point. One of the most polarizing groups we separate ourselves into, especially in America, is our political party.

    The political landscape today is full of so much vitriol, so much animosity. Sometimes I fear our politics is what will be the ultimate downfall of all unity and kindness in the United States. There are other times I’m positive political beliefs will be the end of all love in the world.

    This post does a great job in describing the major issue with politics today:

    https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/49040923/posts/48634

    Please give it a read. The post talks about how in politics we often hate the other side more than we care about our own side.

    Democrats and Republicans are the modern-day Nephites and Lamanites.  They are titles, distinctions, parties.  All they do is separate us from one another.  As soon as we look at somebody as a Republican or a Democrat and assume something negative about them, we are unfairly characterizing that individual.  Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, you know someone of the other party that you like.  If only we could see the viewpoints of other parties and understand the reason they think that way, it would make such a difference.

    All these categories described above, and especially political affiliation, they are all modern day -ites.  If we don’t start uniting and working together, this will all fall apart.

    As we approach another heated political season, I hope we all remember that we’re in this together. The Republican isn’t all that different from their Democrat neighbor. Love and accept and try to see why others have different viewpoints. Often when we put ourselves in the shoes of another and try to understand why they think the way they think, we will be shocked at how quickly we at least understand where they’re coming from.

    There are so many ways we differentiate ourselves. I hope we can do our best to focus on the one category we all belong to: children of our Heavenly Father. We are brothers and sisters, all in this test of life together. I hope we can start to act like it.

    Just imagine. What if the politics in America was better represented by this image than the one above?

    That’s a political landscape I’d like to be a part of.