{"id":85727,"date":"2020-06-08T10:43:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T16:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=85727"},"modified":"2020-06-10T14:06:10","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T20:06:10","slug":"president-nelson-the-naacp-senator-romney-and-some-observations-on-the-passing-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/06\/president-nelson-the-naacp-senator-romney-and-some-observations-on-the-passing-scene.html","title":{"rendered":"President Nelson, the NAACP, Senator Romney, and some observations on the passing scene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>
Two Latter-day Saint missionaries walking down a street in Africa (LDS Media Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is an older item, but one element of it has been on my mind since I first read it, and I still want to comment on it:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than 1,000 march downtown in more peaceful protest:\u00a0Mayor issues weeklong curfew for Salt Lake City; governor declares emergency\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the article, we\u2019re told that the leader of the \u201cmore peaceful\u201d Salt Lake City protest was one Deja Gaston, of something calling itself\u00a0the \u201cParty for Socialism and Liberation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, I have to admit that joining the words socialism<\/em> and liberation<\/em> together as coordinates if not synonyms strikes me as extraordinarily dubious. \u00a0Let me be more specific, though: \u00a0One of the ways of defining government<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 as opposed to non-government organizations, however powerful they may be \u2014 is that government possesses or at least claims a legal monopoly on force. \u00a0Government has the legal power to compel and coerce. \u00a0Judiciary, police, and military are the sine qua non<\/em> of government.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

So does it really make any sense for a protest against abuses of state coercive power to be led by an organization devoted to socialism<\/em>, which (in any realistic sense of the term) entails a massive expansion of the state\u2019s power to coerce? \u00a0If police power tends to tyranny in a society such as ours, is it plausible to suppose that greatly augmented police power would be less<\/em> tyrannical? \u00a0Lord Acton\u2019s dictum comes immediately to mind: \u00a0\u201cPower tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One also has to wonder precisely what currently fashionable calls to \u201cdefund\u201d or \u201cdisband\u201d the police actually entail<\/em>. \u00a0(The Minneapolis city council has actually just voted to do so.) \u00a0It seems obvious that there is a need to defend the public safety, and that a government that has absolutely abdicated that responsibility is no government at all. \u00a0So, whatever happens to police departments as presently constituted, that role will need to be played by some<\/em> sort of organization.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I very much liked this item, from Salt Lake City\u2019s Deseret News<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cThis man\u2019s protest against the protest went viral\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One comment on it: \u00a0When, on 1 June 2020, President Russell M. Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> shared a protest-related message on his social media accounts (\u201cPresident Nelson Shares Social Post about Racism and Calls for Respect for Human Dignity:\u00a0He reminds of the Creator\u2019s call for each of us to abandon attitudes of prejudice against any group or individual\u201d<\/a>) his words were condemned in some circles. \u00a0The complaint seemed to be that, by combining a denunciation of racism with a call to avoid violence, theft, and destruction, he had diluted his denunciation of racism. \u00a0This revealed his \u201cwhite privilege.\u201d \u00a0So, I ask, does a call to avoid violence, theft, and destruction also reveal \u201cwhite privilege\u201d when it comes from a Black Muslim man?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chanting and banner-waving protests are fairly blunt instruments, even when they\u2019re non-violent. \u00a0(I once participated in a very small one decades ago, and I\u2019m rather ashamed of having done so. \u00a0It was intellectually dishonest; I was feigning an indignation that I didn\u2019t really feel in order to score a partisan point.) \u00a0There\u2019s no nuance to them. \u00a0But sometimes the issues they\u2019re addressing are quite complex, and require<\/em> nuance. \u00a0They lend themselves to a simplistic, Manichaean, demonizing, pure-good-versus-pure-evil view that is very seldom justified. \u00a0Still, at this emotional point in time, I\u2019m proud of Mitt Romney for his gesture on Sunday. \u00a0He made a statement that I\u2019m very happy about:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSen. Mitt Romney joins Black Lives Matter march in Washington, D.C.:\u00a0<\/span>President Trump tweets sarcastic response\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m wholly unsurprised by the characteristically graceless response from Mr. Donald J. Trump:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump sarcastically cheers \u2018what a guy\u2019 Mitt Romney for joining George Floyd protest march\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was absolutely delighted to see this morning\u2019s joint statement from President Russell M. Nelson and the leadership of the NAACP:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLocking arms for racial harmony in America:\u00a0<\/span>What the NAACP and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are doing together\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I note, first of all, that this statement condemns both racism and<\/em> violence, theft, and destruction. \u00a0Yet I don\u2019t think it would be plausible to describe it as an expression of \u201cwhite privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This line, though, jumped out at me: \u00a0\u201cWe . . . invite people of goodwill everywhere to look for ways to reach out and serve someone of a different background or race. Everyone can do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is a serious challenge, and I hope to take it seriously. \u00a0It may be the only way that we can overcome the current divide in America.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 This is an older item, but one element of it has been on my mind since I first read it, and I still want to comment on it: \u00a0 \u201cMore than 1,000 march downtown in more peaceful protest:\u00a0Mayor issues weeklong curfew for Salt Lake City; governor declares emergency\u201d \u00a0 In the article, we\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7872,4735,1809,12218,1812,1815,788,55,12359,12362,9107,5286,11471,12194,1260,8085],"class_list":["post-85727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-black","tag-church","tag-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints","tag-harmony","tag-latter-day-saints","tag-lds","tag-mormon","tag-mormonism","tag-naacp","tag-national-association-for-the-advancement-of-colored-people","tag-nelson","tag-president","tag-race","tag-racial","tag-racism","tag-russell"],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Nelson, the NAACP, Senator Romney, and some observations on the passing scene<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    This is an older item, but one element of it has been on my mind since I first read it, and I still want to comment on it:   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