Donald Trump’s Mormon Problem

It’s easy to see how Mormons might get spooked by a presidential contender bashing a religious minority. Early Latter-day Saints spent much of the mid-19th century being chased into the desert by bigots and demagogues. Elected officials tried to “exterminate” them. Propagandists painted them as a nefarious foreign race (defined, according to a report printed in multiple medical journals, by their “yellow, sunken, cadaverous visage” and “thick, protuberant lips”). In an eerie bit of foreshadowing, the United States secretary of state sought in 1879 to restrict the flow of Mormon immigrants from overseas, arguing that America must be protected from these “prospective lawbreakers.” 

Mormon leaders have not forgotten this history. As Elder Patrick Kearon said in April while announcing a new churchwide relief effort for refugees, “Their story is our story, not that many years ago.” ("Donald Trump’s Mormon Problem", Mckay Coppins, New York Times, Jun 13, 2016)

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Is gun violence actually going down?

"We’ve had a massive decline in gun violence in the United States. Here’s why." (Max Ehrenfreund, Washington Post, Dec 3, 2015)

"Australia’s 1996 Gun Confiscation Didn’t Work – And it Wouldn’t Work in America"

"Gun homicides steady after decline in ’90s; suicide rate edges up" (Jens Manuel Krogstad, Oct 2015, pewresearch.org)

From "The World Is Not Falling Apart: Never mind the headlines. We’ve never lived in such peaceful times.",  Steven Pinker and Andrew Mack, slate.com Dec 2014.

Limited Government versus Omnipotent Government

The very nature and purpose of government has changed. We no longer has consensus about that; and that means that we no longer has a consensus that government ought to be limited. Some people think that government only does good and therefore we need more of it; and in fact, if we can have it all-encompassing, to take of us from cradle to grave; that would be so much more good that it would be utopia on earth.  

They forget that in our human nature, if you give people power, they tend to abuse it for their own purposes rather for the common good. That's why we have a limited government. That basic fight: whether we are going to continue to have a limited government, or we are going to have an omnipotent government is what we are in now. An omnipotent government can't exist with a constitution that sets out a limited government structure. ("The Constitution Under Attack",  John Eastman, YouTube video,  Oct 31, 2013)

What is the rule of law?

I have a friend who thinks that gun ownership should be a privilege like a driver's license is.  I said,

I have no issue if you want to treat gun ownership as a privilege. Just amend the constitution according the the rules within the constitution to do so. 

If we fail to treat the 2nd amendment like we do the right to free speech, will be be in serious trouble. 

The rule of law is a principle that has led to freedom and prosperity. Let's not discard it.

Print Up Toten Chip Cards

Here is a document I created from this image. That way I have plenty of cards for scout camp.