The other Baldwin, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Constitution and Prop 8
maxine October 30th, 2008
So Election Day is coming up, and I want to share what’s been on my mind. Be warned: this will be a long post but it may be a good influence so I won’t skimp. Maxine has posted two other fantastic and interesting posts in the last day so please if you’re going to skip my post don’t skip hers. That being said, let me begin with a quote from Hyrum Smith:
“We engage in the election the same as in any other principle: you are to vote for good men, and if you do not do this it is a sin: to vote for wicked men, it would be sin. Choose the good and refuse the evil. Men of false principles have preyed upon us like wolves upon helpless lambs. Damn the rod of tyranny; curse it. Let every man use his liberties according to the Constitution. Don’t fear man or devil; electioneer with all people, male and female, and exhort them to do the thing that is right.” (Author: Hyrum Smith, Source: History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.15, p.323)
And now a quote from Joseph Smith:
“…we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that we have acted conscientiously, and have used our best judgment. And if we have to throw away our votes, we had better do so upon a worthy rather than an unworthy individual who might make use of the weapon we put in his hand to destroy us. (Joseph Smith, Source: Times and Seasons, Nauvoo, IV, 441. Cited also in Roberts, Comprehensive History, II, 208-209)
Now Ezra Taft Benson:
“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” (President Ezra Taft Benson, CR, October 1985, p. 5.)
And finally, John Quincy Adams:
“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
I think we take the power of voting for granted. It’s not just about “beating the other guy” or the “lesser of two evils.” There is ALWAYS a better choice. I’ve tried being both a Democrat and a Republican, and I didn’t like either party. Both pander to the lowest common denominator and get nothing done except bloat the government, increase our debt, and get us into wars. This isn’t the America that I support; I think we have the potential to be the greatest nation in the world, but not by way of economic or military power. That is such a carnal and worldly trap - and it’s ruined our nation these past 80 years or so. What makes a person great? Their money, power, influence, or intelligence? I think it’s fair to say that none of those things do. When you really get down to it it’s character, wisdom, self-control, humility, and benevolence. And I think our country has lost all of those things. Consumerism and an obsession with diversion have crept into our culture and quickly tainted every last one of us. We have transitioned from a production-based economy to a consumption-based one. We lust after possessions and big ugly gas-guzzlers that do no good but only endanger others on the road and poison the air we breathe. I find it ironic that in the hey-dey of blind patriotism after the attacks on the World Trade Center we as a nation rushed out to prove our loyalty by buying SUVs that gave even more power to our enemies through the choke-hold of our dependence on oil. What hubris! We then went and purchased homes we couldn’t afford because we felt “entitled.” We actually believed we were deserving in our 20s and 30s of the same lifestyle our parents worked decades to achieve. Okay, I’ll stop. But I only rant to illustrate my frustration with the two major political parties. All of these problems were brought on by ourselves but were also pushed on us by both sides of the political spectrum. While Democrats fought for entitlement rights for poor people (trying to give them rights to buy things they couldn’t afford) Republicans fought to increase our dependence on oil, gave tax breaks to humvee purchasers, and in every way tried to stymie any efforts to help our environment. And that’s just an extreme generalization. Books could be written on this subject. But anyway, in addition to all the hoopla surrounding the big election, an even more insidious doctrine is trying to become mainstream and it has the potential to tear the Constitution apart.
If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably heard of California’s Proposition 8 which will also be voted on next week. It seeks to amend the California Constitution to permit marriage only between heterosexual couples. Now this issue has always caused me heartache - I really want everyone to be happy and to experience all of the joys that come with marriage. I can’t imagine being denied that because of something I couldn’t help. But at the same time what’s even more heartbreaking is the thought of children being raised without both a mother and a father to teach them how to be properly functioning human beings with both a yin and a yang. (the Chinese really nailed it with that concept - if the yin and yang are not balanced, neither are we. But I digress….) I can go on and on about why it’s important to keep marriage defined as it is. What happens when a Church won’t marry a gay couple, give them counseling, or let them get married on their property? They’ll get sued and forced by the courts to comply. This would literally bring about the end of religious freedom. (It’s already happening in Massachussetts) By continuing to change the definition of marriage, we as a society show how unimportant the concept of marriage is to us. Already it’s almost more common to have children THEN get married than it is to go about it in the traditional manner. What does that say about our mentality? That marriage is just a formality? That it’s not important? That children don’t need to be raised in a unified family unit? That’s insane! But what really gets my goat is the whole reason Prop 8 is here in the first place. A couple of judges decided to go against the majority and change the law. There was no legislation. The Judicial branch (and the Executive for that matter) have decided to get rid of the checks and balances system our government is based on and have taken the law into their own hands. Doesn’t that scare you? They’re basically saying that the Constitution no longer matters. If someone doesn’t like something and can get a sympathetic judge to listen, they can change the law by themselves. If the President doesn’t want to answer for his mistakes, he can claim “Executive Privilege.” The Congress, the only appointed “voice of the People,” has no power left. That means that “We the People” no longer matter. We have no say in how things are to be done. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and the minority get their way at the expense of the rest. Our hard-earned money is being taken from us against our will and given to others or used for causes we don’t believe in and we get no say in the matter.
So now I finally get to my point. I don’t like McCain - he’s done some very underhanded things these past two months and he has shown a great weakness of character. I can’t support him with my vote. As for Obama, in many ways I think he can do a lot to heal our country and our environment or at least help our tarnished reputation with the rest of the world, but he’s inexperienced and doesn’t really appear to have any substance to his platform. I have no idea what he’s even for and I’ve looked. I don’t trust smooth-talkers who don’t actually say anything. I think the job of the President belongs to the experienced statesman who has garnered a lifetime of wisdom and character and has the courage to stand up for what he believes. It’s been a long time since our country has had that. I felt (and still believe) that Ron Paul was our best option and the best man to fill that role. In his decades of service he’s never once voted against what he stands for. He’s shown a 100% fully undeviating course towards what he really believes in. But since he’s not running for president, I’m voting for the man he endorses, Chuck Baldwin.
I’ve chosen my side and I’m completely with the Constitution. Parties change over time and go in and out of style, but the Constitution is our anchor and will always be right. I’m sticking with the Constitution party. Chuck Baldwin supports greater border defense, non-aggressive/non-stupid foreign policy, limiting federal government (reducing/eliminating the IRS and Federal Reserve), and giving more power to Congress as the voice of the American people. Supporting McCain, Obama, or gay marriage will only continue to erode our freedoms and destroy this once-great nation.
And that’s why I support the Constitution, Chuck Baldwin, and Proposition 8. In the end, these things mean more freedom for us.
If you’re still with me, thank you for listening to my tirade and now enjoy some pleasant posts about Tim-Tams and Isaac in a monkey costume!
The Chronicles of Narnia - yup, I read the whole series, and it was great! The books are a lot shorter than I remember and all were fantastic, except for “Prince Caspian,” which was unfortunately very short on plot.
Demons (AKA “The Possessed”) by Dostoevsky - not Dostoevsky’s best, but still a very gripping and somewhat disturbing book. What really struck me was the narrative style. It was narrated by one of the characters, but at different times. So for the first third or so of the book, the narrator is telling you what happened but he has no idea what’s going on and there are so many gaps in his knowledge. Then he comes back with much more knowledge of what happened and he starts to fill in the blanks and foreshadow what’s to come. It was really interesting - I’ve never read a book like it. 
1776 - I read this book for the 4th of July. It was AMAZING!!! There is so much they don’t teach you in school! I recommend this to everybody. And I mean everybody. It’s such a page-turner, and everyone who professes to love this country needs to read it so they can really understand what happened. Don’t worry - it’ll only take a couple of days, and next year on July 4th you’ll look at the holiday a lot differently.
Tuesdays with Morrie - I guess I’m just a glutton for memoirs of terminally-ill people. This book (I’m not sure if it’s fiction) was written by a guy who would visit a dying man named Morrie every Tuesday. Every Tuesday Morrie would teach the author a new lesson on life, garnered from a long life of experience and happiness. This book wasn’t nearly as sad, but also not quite as powerful as “The Last Lecture.” 
The Joy Luck Club - Definitely worth the hype. This book explores the relationships of four Chinese women and their American-born daughters. Each chapter is narrated by one of the seven main characters (one of the women dies in the first chapter so her story is told by her daughter) and as it hops back and forth from person to person and generation to generation you see a broader theme start to develop as gaps are filled in and you understand both sides of a battle that’s been raging in all Chinese-American homes for over 50 years now. 
The Tao Te Ching - I was kind of on a Chinese kick and I’ve always wanted to read it anyway. I like to think of myself as a “Taoist Mormon.” I truly believe in the Way, and believe that the Gospel is a perfect incarnation of the Way, if followed properly. The Tao is about finding strength in weakness, leading by humility, and the whole yin-yang mentality in everything. Here are some examples:
Peter and the Starcatchers - co-written by Dave Barry, one of my heroes. It’s a book about the origin of Peter Pan, and it is BRILLIANT! What a fun read - I couldn’t put it down! They’ve since written two more books in the series, and I’ve already reserved them at the library. If you’re mourning the loss of Harry Potter or the Twilight series, I heartily recommend this series to fill the void.
The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog - by Dave Barry. Need I say more? Well, maybe a little. Maxine checked this out at the library yesterday and read it last night. She couldn’t stop laughing the whole time. So then I read it (it took 45 minutes to read it from cover to cover) and it reminded me again of why I so revere Dave Barry. It’s narrated by a boy in junior high relating the miracles surrounding his Christmas in 1960. We’re going to buy this book and make it a Christmas tradition from now on, because the book is that good.
