I know there has been a strong attempt in the media and on the part of Mitt Romney’s campaign to minimize the effect of his religion on his election and on his possible future role as President of the United States, and this is somewhat understandable since there have been serious concerns about electing a Catholic as President in an earlier election. I know that in most cases a man’s religion is his own business, and attacking him on his religion is downright un-American. Despite this fact, I would like to voice a concern I have about this, in that I feel electing a Mormon as President does not have the same concerns as electing, say, a Catholic President. Some of the most important and germinal ceremonies of the Mormon Church, I feel, would directly conflict with a person’s role and obligations as a President. Here’s why…
In the way of an example, let me tell you about a role-playing game called “Vampire, the Masquerade”, VtM is what gamers call a “total immersion” gaming experience. Ideally, when playing the game , several friends gather, in full vampire costume, in a darkly lit scenery, ideally with candles and skulls and coffins etc. as props, and they undergo a complete experience, actually becoming these Vampire characters, and there are penalties for not playing in character. The experience is immersive and so total, that it is noted to have severe influence on impressionable and unstable minds, sometimes leading to vampire-esque and ritualistic killings; such as noted here in a memo on Vampire Killings and here in the case of a Florida Teenager, and here in the famous Vampire Killers case of 1996. A video giving an example of what playing looks like, can be seen here…
http://youtu.be/PkqnH5ay_74
The thing about these cases is how painfully obvious it is to most average Americans how bizarre it is to undergo such intense and total ritual experience in such an absorptive fashion on a regular basis borders on craziness, and brings to mind doubts of a person’s sanity. Even among gamers in general, who are already a fringe element of Society, VtM players are considered strange and are usually avoided.
But what if I told you, there was a very large, highly organized and influential group here in America, and worldwide, that does everything the Vampire players do, even surpassing them in intricacy and expense?
The Mormon Temple rituals, are viewed as sacred to Mormons all over the world, and indeed, the Temple itself is viewed as an Embassy of Heaven on Earth by many of them. They dress in costume, speak differently, and in general, they role-play that they are in some fashion in the afterlife or Heaven. An example can be seen here…
http://youtu.be/TLGRqALg8Q4
Now, I would justifiably have very deep concerns about a sitting President of the United States partaking in such rituals at all while in office, but since Mitt Romney has such significant standing in the Church, it would almost certainly be required of him regularly. That scares the hell out of me, having a President, who has the nuke codes, dressing up and role-playing that he is in Heaven regularly. At the very least, I feel if Mitt gets elected, he should have to abstain from Church rituals during his Presidency. These rituals are designed to be total and immersive, and are not really equal in comparison to going to Mass, or receiving the Eucharist. I just don’t believe that some one who engages in that kind of behavior would have both feet on the ground, and could view issues impartially, the way they deserve.
My feeling, and it’s just that, a feeling, is that Mitt won’t release his tax returns to the public not because people will see he hasn’t paid any taxes (which I find highly doubtful that he didn’t) but rather the American public will see the role that the Mormon Church and Mormon owned business have played in his success. This would bring painfully to light that fact that separation of Church and State are impossible with this candidate, in fact, due to the hierarchy and structure of the Mormon Church, as well as the nature of the Melchizedek priesthood,(mentioned in the big love video above) Mitt is an active priest in the Church (as are most male members) able to perform blessings and other rituals, and although equivalent comparisons are fuzzy, Mitt is something very much like a Bishop in the Church. You cannot maintain separation of Church and State while electing a standing Bishop to the Presidency, I feel this fact alone disqualifies him.
Let me know what you guys think.