The first book will be a historical review of political and theological thought of my Church. This book was inspired by a number of things. On the one hand, when the spark for political thought was first flinted in my heart, I was touched by the centrality of choice at the root of most political discussion, and the warmth that I felt was a recognition of the parallel we find in that moral agency is central to the Grand Design of God. The philosophy of natural law, both physical and moral, as well as the reverence for the divine worth of the individual, captivated my imagination, and caused my heart to burn. I felt a drive, both to learn more and to some day enter the public discourse to share the glories of that tender plant of freedom that I had newly learned to value.
Another inspiration was the growing discovery that history is complicated, and the route that we traveled is not a straight one. Edmund Burke felt that history was the unscrolling of the Grand Design. We would all like to think that we are on the right side of history, in the sense that our version of history is the correct one, often times ceasing our research once we find the answer that supports our political philosophy. We do not often dig deep enough to find the contemporary opposition arguments on the same topic. As a people, and perhaps a culture, I think we take for granted the amount of thinking that has already been done in the past three to four thousand years. There seem to be few of today's questions that have not been previously addressed somewhere.
Another inspiration was the Founding Fathers' Library, which I am still trying to read.
Branching off the idea that history complicated, another inspiration has been the political history of the Church and the Church's involvement in State and National affairs. In my research, I have read lots of facts that I do not have an explanation for -- I know that Pres. Ezra Taft Benson was vehemently conservative politically, and did not shy away from the topic at the pulpit. I know also that Pres. Benson was very active in the John Birch Society, which was considered too extreme for conservatives like Bill Buckley to include in his coalition. I know that the Church holds a stance of neutrality during elections. I know also that there was one presidential election where the president of the Church encouraged the Saints to vote one way, in 1936, when President Heber J. Grant counseled the Saints to vote against Roosevelt for his second term -- the state of Utah voted for FDR in that election. I know that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff is typically listed as one of the causes of the Great Depression, and that the Smoot of the Smoot-Hawley was Reed Smoot, Apostle of the Church. I know that there is a Priesthood Instruction Manuel from the 1930s that supports wealth redistribution schemes, and that the Self-Reliance courses today encourage individual responsibility and thrift. A relative provided a list of quotes, mostly by Brigham Young from the Journal of Discourses, under the title "Brigham or Bernie," implying that Church doctrine has always been progressive in nature. These are difficult questions, ones for which I do not have an answer, and from which I have not yet drawn conclusion. And this is not a comprehensive list. As I said, history is complicated.
My point is that I do not want to shy away from these topics. I refuse to believe that people who disagree with me are my de facto enemies. I would like to believe that we are all trying the best we can to make sense of this world and what happens in it, that we should be less quick to judge, be more patient with one another, and not be afraid to tackle the intellectually and morally relevant contentions between differing philosophies. I have felt that as I learn, that I should write, and that perhaps they may be of some good to my fellow man and to future generations. I have never before felt such an awareness of future generations, and my role as link between the previous generation before and the generations after, and how much influence can be had by writing it down. I feel constrained to figure out a system for myself of learning the history, the ideas, the theories, the doctrines, the policies, and then writing down my thoughts as I go. Perhaps the most important thing about this post is that I seem to be giving myself permission to be a little less formal with my blog posts, so that hopefully I can make more frequent postings. More quotes from my audiobook, which I do so faithfully on my Facebook page.
My point is that I do not want to shy away from these topics. I refuse to believe that people who disagree with me are my de facto enemies. I would like to believe that we are all trying the best we can to make sense of this world and what happens in it, that we should be less quick to judge, be more patient with one another, and not be afraid to tackle the intellectually and morally relevant contentions between differing philosophies. I have felt that as I learn, that I should write, and that perhaps they may be of some good to my fellow man and to future generations. I have never before felt such an awareness of future generations, and my role as link between the previous generation before and the generations after, and how much influence can be had by writing it down. I feel constrained to figure out a system for myself of learning the history, the ideas, the theories, the doctrines, the policies, and then writing down my thoughts as I go. Perhaps the most important thing about this post is that I seem to be giving myself permission to be a little less formal with my blog posts, so that hopefully I can make more frequent postings. More quotes from my audiobook, which I do so faithfully on my Facebook page.
The second book is my full review of the musical Hamilton. I will call the book, Hamilton: The Founding of the Diverse America. It is an intellectual battle that should be fought.
As I have said in another place, I have left many people perplexed by expressing that I find a certain spiritual fulfillment in the study of politics.
