The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Roger That

2.18.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 5 of 5)

Count me as one of those who ruled out Romney because of his Mormonism. I've never met a Mormon I didn't like, but having had some intimate acquaintance with another American-born cult (Jehovah's Witnesses), I'll always be creeped out by anything cultish. And you can't look at the history of Mormonism without seeing a cult screaming back at you. If you doubt me, just read through Mark Twain's take on Mormonism, which -- since all of Twain's books are online -- you can access simply by Googling these four words: twain roughing surety hefted. And for a bit of ill-remembered Mormon history, just Google these three words: twain mountain meadows.

Either Smith was a fraud, or Twain was a bigot. Which is it?

Cults can be big or small, and their members may in many cases be quite decent folks, but their common denominator is that they were spawned by a scheming, self-aggrandizing liar. Those liars' place in history may range from the great throne occupied by Mohammed (violence personified; today's massacre-makers and head-choppers rightly claim to be following their Prophet's example) to the little stools occupied by lesser cranks and charlatans such as the JWs' Charles Taze Russell, the Scientologists' L. Ron Hubbard, and the Mormons' Joseph Smith.

Since Romney was born into the LDS church and all his nearest and dearest are Mormons, his own humanity ties him to that faith, and he is not to be blamed for that, any more than a Muslim, all of whose nearest and dearest are Muslims, is to be blamed for his attachment to Islam. If a Mormon sought to be governor, senator, or Supreme Court justice, I could abide it. But a president to some degree personifies the nation, and to elect a Mormon as president would indeed add immense prestige and legitimacy to a church that anyone with a regard for truth must, on full investigation and reflection, conclude to be a grand edifice built on sand. It would hurt the spiritual lives of countless potential converts to Mormonism to lend the LDS church any such prestige. That was always an insuperable barrier to my ever voting for Romney as president.
-- Karl Spence
San Antonio, Texas

IT'S ALWAYS A FEW YEARS AWAY
Re: William Tucker's Biofuels Meltdown:

It was hard for me to decide whether to laugh or to cry after reading "Biofuels Meltdown" by William Tucker. Chock full of misinformation and last year's Ethanol technology, it is pathetic that this is a featured article of your magazine.

When Ethanol shows its economic viability, coming within the next few years, what will Mr. Tucker and Science magazine decide to pan in order to make their living? Sad, truly sad!
-- Richard Morlock

Letter to the Editor

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