Electoral Apathy and Mormons in their 20's

Lancer at The Good in Ogden has a great post on political apathy among LDS people in their twenties.

I will break it down, in an attempt to offer solutions. If you want to, go read the entire thing first, so you can get the entire feel. I'll wait. I promise. I'm not going anywhere.

Year after year, we hear politicians make promise after promise, only to get to legislative sessions and forget about their constituents. Suddenly, they have "arrived" and in order to be accepted by the "big boys", they have to play their games. We see through it and don't want any part of it.

Yes, that happens. And the only way to stop it is to hold them accountable. Call them. Vote them out of office. Just sitting back and mildly complaining is going to get you nothing but more of the same.

many LDS Republicans feel that it is their job to legislate LDS doctrine. What ever happened to agency? True, I am a member of the "predominant religion". But no where have I read or heard preached that it is our job to force LDS principles on others- particularly through the law.

I was talking about this to a friend of mine who happens to be still in high school. She made the comparison (which I have made in the past) that it's like the War in Heaven. There were two plans, one that man could do no wrong, and one that gave man the choice. One was Satan's plan, and one was Christ's plan. Sometimes I feel like the Republicans would have rather had Satan's plan.

So why don't I join the Democratic Party? I would do it in a heartbeat if it weren't for something called the Democratic National Committee. Within the state, the Democratic Party tends to be fairly reasonable. They work hard at trying to maintain a balance within state politics (which is akin to staying dry in a downpour by running around trying to avoid the raindrops), which I admire. The problem is when you leave the State of Utah.

Then don't leave the state of Utah. Only work for those candidates who YOU support, not just because the DNC supports them.

In the state of Utah (parts of Ogden and Price aside), those who affiliate with the Democratic Party are immediately deemed a "flaming liberal" and their devotion to their religion (if they belong to the "predominant faith") is brought into question.

I always pray about my political options. If the answers to those prayers are wrong, then the answers to my religious options prayers are wrong.

So we of the "Alphabet Generations" are left with little choice. We want to be just as involved in the process of government as the ardent political party member, we just don't want the crap that goes with it (and if you've ever seen elephant or donkey dung, you know you don't want anything to do with it).

Hey, jump in, get involved, take back the party. Take that dung and throw it out. Or use it as fertilizer to grow some pretty flowers. It's your choice.

Oh, and those of you who stayed around this long, Shaun, who used to be a Republican, answers the question about why he's now a Democrat.

-Bob