Mitt "Mittens" Romney's Big Speech: America's "SymPHONY of Faith"

We forget that our pet name for Willard Mitt Romney, "Mittens," is not generally known, so in order to get some hot Google™ action, let us repeat: Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney speech. Speech Mitt Romney. That oughta do it.

Now, as to the speech itself. What a crock. This nitwit is going to defend our constitution from all enemies, foreign & domestic? He willfully denies the meaning & purpose of the First Amendment:

[D]uring the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places.

No. What could be more of an "establishment of religion" than public spaces & funds used for religious purposes & symbolism? Note well that the definition of "religion" throughout his speech covers Christianity, Judaism &, grudgingly, Islam. ("[T]he commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims." That's it, they pray a lot. Wow. We'll note further on what else he has to say about "radical, violent Islam.") That's it, religion is limited to the worship of the War God of the Hebrews, also known as the god of Abraham, & a few more recent "revelations," up to & including the golden tablets of the Angel Moroni as shown to Joseph Smith. No mention whatsoever of Buddhism, Hindus, Sikhs, Cargo Cults, Wiccans, Voudou, Animism, Zoroastrians, Scientology or any of the other infinite ways in which human sheep delude themselves. Bear this in mind: When you hear the word "religion" used in an American political context, it means Judeo-Xtianity, w/ a certain allowance for Islam, because there are Muslims in this country, & some of us are scared & threatened by them overseas & here, so we'd better not piss them off. The only freedom of religion (let alone from religion) anyone in this country gets is freedom among the various branches of Yahweh worshippers (& those Muslims better watch their step). All others can just fuck off.

Here's another common crock handed out by the religious: You cannot be a "moral" person unless your "morality" is enforced by fear of an invisible sky fairy who will condemn your "immortal soul" to a lake of eternal fire if you don't kiss his fairy ass 24/7. And tithe a lot to the Big Fairy's representatives on Earth.

In John Adams' words: 'We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people.'

In other words, "freedom" & "liberty" are reserved for those whose freedom is constrained by their superstitions. If you don't "believe," you're an immoral, selfish Social Darwinist, who will have no respect for "the children of God." Mr. Ex-Governor, please tell us about the "morality" of laying off thousands of people when your leveraged buyout firm, Bain Capital, decides that the "morality" of better returns to stockholders supersedes the lives of those laid off. Mormon or Mammon? Which does Mittens truly worship?

We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion.

[...]

Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

Oh, bullshit. Sheer, unadulterated bullshit. Not just faith & belief are required, but religion? What is the whole gay marriage, civil unions, "homosexual agenda," blah blah blah flap about other than certain interpretations of the Bible? What is abortion about other than religion? What are "family values" other than barely coded religious values? If it weren't for Pat Robertson, James Dobson & their ilk attempting to gain political & personal power on the backs of the religiously deluded, the United States wouldn't be nearly as polarized as it is today.

It was in Philadelphia that our founding fathers defined a revolutionary vision of liberty, grounded on self evident truths about the equality of all, and the inalienable rights with which each is endowed by his Creator.

Unless of course you're a homo, or a hippie, or a heathen, or were born a slave, or weren't born to wealth & privilege. Then your rights are negotiable. Good luck.

We mentioned in the previous item that there is no reference to "god" or "faith" anywhere in the Constitution. As swell as the Declaration of Independence may be, it is not our governing document. Indeed, the Declaration is hardly in line w/ such Biblical principles as holding slaves, stoning disobedient children, etc., although the Constitution did originally favor slavery.

Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.

Oh, bullcrap. Again. Don't tell us that the Mormon church has no influence on the state of Utah, for example. Don't whine about your religion & all the influence it's had on you, & then pretend you will ignore it. Especially Mormon religion, which holds that the high muckety-mucks receive revelations from God, or Elohim, or Adam (same dude, in Mormonism). (The revelation from Whoever, by the way, explains how polygamy can suddenly become not a central tenet of the LDS Church, so that Utah can achieve statehood. And how it was determined, in the late 1970s, that black men could be members of the Mormon priesthood. Talk about flip-flopping! Something else Mittens seems to get from his faith.) If Mitt really believes this crap, do you think he'll turn down a suggestion from Elder whoever, the Mormon president, that Elohim says such & such? The Pope may be "infallible," but he's probably not foolish enough to attempt to tell a Catholic president what to do. The Mormon thing is on a different level.

There are some for whom these commitments are not enough. They would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it is more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its precepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers – I will be true to them and to my beliefs.

Mittens' father, George, you may recall, was born in Mexico, because George's father or grandfather left the United States for Mexico so he could continue polygamy even after the LDS Church disavowed it. To which faith will Mittens be true?

Added anti-religious note: 95% of Americans who still practice or believe in a religion do so w/ the one into which they were born. Religion is indeed more of a hollow "tradition" than any "personal conviction." And for a Mormon to speak of "disavowing one or another of its precepts" in reference to Mormonism is rich. Hell, they change their perceptual tune every half hour.

On that note, we can examine the utter shallowness w/ which the Mittster appreciates other "faith traditions:"

I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life's blessings.

We thought it was Mormon industriousness (The Beehive State) that brought life's "blessings," not that Elohim was in a good mood that day & handing out the goodies. And you can imagine that he'd like a more profound ceremony like the Catholic Mass, as opposed to the rip-off of Masonic ritual that the Magic Underwear Cult uses. By the way, those steeples aren't exactly a feature of Judeo-Islamic "houses of worship."

Perhaps the most important question to ask a person of faith who seeks a political office, [sic] is this: does he share these American values: the equality of human kind, the obligation to serve one another, and a steadfast commitment to liberty?

Though the "whitesome & delightsome" may be a little more "equal" than others. And some may serve others more than they themselves are served. And "liberty," to those who run Bain Capital, means only the liberty to exploit others, economically & every other way possible, w/ the least gov't. interference. Free market capitalism. Liberty & opportunity for all who have the capital.

Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government.

This American acknowledges no such thing. We have to fight for our rights every day. In case Mitt doesn't remember, the "indulgence of government" comes from the "consent of the governed," not from imaginary men in the sky.

No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty.

Make up that Mormon mind, Mittens. Gift? Or something for which we've had to make the most sacrifices ever? In the whole history of the world!! Are Americans noble or what? "Or what" is the correct answer. Remember those 20 million Soviets who died in the Great Patriotic War? That's a sacrifice.

More historical revisionism:

America took nothing from that Century's terrible wars – no land from Germany or Japan or Korea; no treasure; no oath of fealty.

Nope, nothing. Just a few acres for military installations, a few defense treaties, economic dominance. As in:

America faces a new generation of challenges. Radical violent Islam seeks to destroy us. An emerging China endeavors to surpass our economic leadership. And we are troubled at home by government overspending, overuse of foreign oil, and the breakdown of the family.

Over the last year, we have embarked on a national debate on how best to preserve American leadership. Today, I wish to address a topic which I believe is fundamental to America's greatness: our religious liberty.

Well, maybe we got some world-wide hegemony from all those wars. And you may remember how anxious we were to jump into all those wars, & sacrifice so much. Shit, if the Japanese hadn't felt threatened & jumped us at Pearl Harbor, we'd still be debating whether Hitler was right or wrong. Mittens doesn't like to call it hegemony though. He likes to call it American leadership. Which is now threatened by Muslims, The Yellow Economic Peril, gov't. spending & divorce. The solution to all these problems is simple: "religious liberty." Of course. Superstition. Making America stronger since 1492.

Let's look at religious liberty, & its alleged opposite:

Infinitely worse is the other extreme, the creed of conversion by conquest: violent Jihad, murder as martyrdom... killing Christians, Jews, and Muslims with equal indifference. These radical Islamists do their preaching not by reason or example, but in the coercion of minds and the shedding of blood. We face no greater danger today than theocratic tyranny, and the boundless suffering these states and groups could inflict if given the chance.

Certainly no Mormon has ever knocked on any one's door & attempted to coerce them. And no one has ever been converted by reason. (Or, in the case of Mormonism, by even the whole truth. One lies, the other swears to it.) And it's historical fact that no one has ever died for religion except at the blood-stained hands of a Muslim. (Mountain Meadows Massacre?) Theocratic tyranny? Dominionism? No, no such thing.

In such a world, we can be deeply thankful that we live in a land where reason and religion are friends and allies in the cause of liberty, joined against the evils and dangers of the day. And you can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me. And so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: we do not insist on a single strain of religion – rather, we welcome our nation's symphony of faith.

Uh, reason & religion? Please. They are forces in conflict, one of them trying to drag the world, kicking & screaming, into something approximating what the 19th century could have been, the other hoping to return us to the pre-historic world of fear, pain & suffering, where we huddle in the caves & hope that Elohim will stop the lightning & thunder, and make the lions & bears go away, if only we sacrifice another child (or wife) to Him.

Again, kneeling in prayer to the Almighty. Why does this "Almighty" need to have its ass kissed for all eternity? Why does it need our suggestions as to who needs what, & what it should do about it? You don't suppose the "Almighty" was created in the image of the insecure control freaks who use it to dominate the "flock," do you? That would be a reasonable conclusion to the holes in the fairy story. And that would be why reason is always the enemy of those who wish to "lead" the believers. It threatens their power over the believers. That's what Mittens "Double Gitmo" Romney wants more than anything. And why he seems willing to say anything to get his hands on more than he already has. Or why, in this speech, supposedly to edify us about his religion, he uses the word "Mormon" only once, begs for "religious liberty," & generally cops out. No one said he wasn't a politician. Or a two-faced pandering Mormon flip-flopper. We guess It's OK If You Are A Mormon, consistency not being their strong suit.