Romney's Mormonism

Maureen Dowd gives me a chance to get down something on Romney's Mormonism, and particularly on this bizarre practice of posthumously baptizing people into their religion.

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On one hand, it is a little touching that they should want more people to enjoy the highest level of heaven, even Hitler. On the other hand, it is disturbing that our most serious Republican contender for the presidency seems to have a deep and literal belief in these strange metaphysics. Though, as a practical matter, I am more concerned about his cold plutocratic instincts to favor the rich and be indifferent to the poor, but that is Republicanism through and through, and apparently Jesus is not enough to get them to turn away even a little from that.

February 15, 1991

Once again, we will do this old entry in real time, instead of copying it directly. It is painful enough just to read these early 1991 entries.

Pop is obviously excited about his tax refund coming up. He is seriously considering a pool table. I actually remember this episode well. I turned the situation into a drama, relating to Mother that it would be wiser to save some money, rather than always blowing their money on frivolities. I even brought race into it, about how we fall into the stereotype of ‘dumb mexicans’ who cannot handle money.

Pop did not receive this news from Mother very well, as I would overhear them talking about it, while they were having their morning coffee and I was lying in bed, or on my sleeping bag on the floor in my room. It became obvious that my living dependently on them, even though it had not been two months yet, was not an insignificant point in their mind, especially Pop’s mind. For the record, though, they never did get that poor table, though I am sure it was not saved either.

Philosophy

“Philosophy is not concerned with meaning, but with definitions in use.”

-- A. J. Ayer, "Language, Truth and Logic"

It is important to get our terms straight and how we use them, but surely this is only the first step. Though, it may be that we can never expect to succeed and come together on this first step.

There is a certain poetic beauty in this, in that our first philosophical discourses with Socrates and Plato never really seem to get beyond this need to better define our terms, such as the question what do we mean by 'justice'? There is too much at stake on these definitions, because our definitions determine our conclusions.

It is an academic exercise. After all, we are not robots waiting for our carefully drafted programs, but we are human beings being ruled by the gun. Our leaders are not logicians but power-hungry men. They care not for logic and consistency, but the satisfaction of their desires and lusts.

Sylvia

“I talk to God but the sky is empty.”

-- Sylvia Plath, from a letter to Richard Sassoon, 19 February 1950

This quote is not from our Sylvia rotation. I got it from Tumblr, and I figure that it pre-dates the journals, which I believe begins in the summer of 1950. Great quote, though, and I am keeping it. Such a profoundly expressed skepticism at such an early age. She's a sharp one alright.