Sunday, February 5, 2012

DIALOGUE: Francis Bacon (1561-1626) vs. Mitt Romney






Bacon wanders near the Thames River, when the news of Romney’s success in Nevada, the U.S.A. promulgates. He questions, did he take advantage of his religion in Nevada, or embracing Mormon is a coincident in Romney’s destined success?

B: Hello, Romney. You did well in Nevada. How much would you say the competition in Nevada was predetermined because one-quarter of Nevada’s caucusgoers are Mormon?

R: “I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith”.

B: “A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure”. Why are you so certain? Convince me.

R: “Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions”. John Adams said “our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people”. America is the land of liberty, so “freedom and religion endure each other”. My believing in Mormon and my success in Nevada are independent matters. If you question the cause of my success by bringing up my religion, you “underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect believers of convenience”.

B: I can feel your honor and natural love for your country, but presidency is a symbol of power. How much would you say your passion for the election is not “corrupt love”, that is, how much was your candidacy initiated by your love for the country and how much was by your desire to pursue Homer’s heroism?

R: I admit that I am honored to be an American, but my honor is America’s honor. That is way I am the best candidate in the presidential election. My honor matches the American honor and ‘America’s duty”, that is “the 21st century can and must be an American century. It began with terror, war, and economic calamity. It is our duty to steer it onto the path of freedom, peace, and prosperity”.

B: Very inspiring answers, but you answered no questions of mine.

As Bacon walks back, he ponders and concludes: regardless whether the result is influenced by emotional affiliation to a candidate and the candidate’s words or not, to vote is to believe, to believe what the candidate addresses is true, and the belief of truth is the sovereign good of human nature. All the questions were unnecessary.

Sources used:

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/francis-bacon/#7

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/us/politics/nevada-caucuses.html?ref=us

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/bacon/bacon_essays.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/10/07/text-of-mitt-romneys-speech-on-foreign-policy-at-the-citadel/

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/14789305/detail.html

1 comment:

Amy said...

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57359322-503544/is-america-ready-for-a-mormon-president/

Why Mitt Romney can’t be the Mormon JFK?
The last time Mitt Romney tried to run for president, he attempted to channel John F. Kennedy's "Catholic" predicament and delivered a speech at the George Bush Library in College Station, Texas, attempting to clear the air about his religion. However, Romney’s “JFK speech” completely failed. His failure to be forthcoming about his religion and how it relates to his political outlook is an ongoing problem for this Mormon candidate. The difference, JFK had a 40 million Catholic population behind him when he gave his memorable speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association and was already the Democratic Presidential nominee. The Mormon population is only 6 million people and Romney is still fighting to be the Republican nominee. It will be interesting to see if Mormonism will play a bigger role in Romney’s campaign once he has secured the nomination.