Election 2020!: My response to "Why it has to be Biden"

 A relative recently sent a link to an article in The Economist titled "Why it has to be Biden" (see https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/10/29/why-it-has-to-be-biden). 

Some readers who haven't been following events carefully may wonder how solid the support is for the statements made in the article. It's not standard practice for articles of this sort to be peppered with footnotes--but if it had been, my view is that the support would be solid and abundant. I've been following events intently and observing and listening to the major actors, and I share the article's assertions and conclusions.

Here's how I responded to the relative's e-mail:

Thank you! I've just read the article you sent. It's impressive--carefully thought out and persuasive. 

Though I lean toward the Democratic Party out of family tradition and a desire to keep a two-party system alive in Utah, I've never felt my overriding loyalty was to party. There are things I like and don't like in both major parties. Though I didn't vote for John McCain or Mitt Romney, I deeply admire them and would have felt fine about having either of them serve as the nation's president. 

As for political ideology, I agree with a statement Dallin Oaks made many years ago: "I find some wisdom in liberalism, some wisdom in conservatism, and much truth in intellectualism—but I find no salvation in any of them" (“Criticism,” Ensign, Feb 1987, 68ff.). Besides being very slippery terms, "conservatism" and "liberalism" are human inventions. I don't see them really as opposites but as contrasting and complementary, each with elements of truth and value. That's one reason I'm not inclined to extremes in ideology and respect people with different ideologies and from different parties. 

But this presidential election feels different from any other I've experienced. It does feel as if the soul of our nation is at stake. Many of the most persuasive arguments in favor of a change of presidents have come from conservatives--by which I mean genuine conservatives, which Pres. Trump is definitely not. Among others I'm thinking of Jeff Flake, a former Arizona Senator who made a powerful statement of support for Biden (https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1djxXoLbYXEJZ). Frank Fox, who helped create BYU's American Heritage course, has made a detailed argument similar to the one in the Economist article (see https://saveourelection.org/letter-to-arizona-mormons/). And many former members of the current administration have revealed their concerns--for instance, Gen. Mattis, Gen. Kelly, and others less well known (such as Elizabeth Neumann, who was an Assistant Secretary in the Dept. of Homeland Security: see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF4KcunfvCg). 

I have reasons of my own in addition to my central concern about the soul of the nation: for instance, the need for more competent and well-informed approaches to the pandemic and to climate change and more humane policies related to refugees, immigration, and racial justice and harmony. On many issues, I'm open to whatever reasonable and practical solutions can be found--ideally through bipartisan cooperation. Let's hope! 

But mainly I'm hoping we can be liberated from the daily stream of anger, name-calling, mockery, and disregard for truth that we've been subjected to for the last few years.  

Again, thanks for sharing.

Bruce

Of course, there's much more I could have said. For instance, how do I feel about the Supreme Court and various moral issues not mentioned here? 

Well, I'm happy to share my thoughts on those topics--but I'll do that, and try to respond to any questions readers have for me, in a separate post.