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Show Editorial The Signpost Viewpoint WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011 3 THE SIGNPOST Jeffres' Romney remarks were bigoted A Texan pastor and his remarks have received a lot of hubbub in the national and international community since Friday evening. Robert Jeffress, a senior pastor at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, introduced GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry at the Values Voter Summit, a conservative gathering of sorts that attracted all Republican presidential hopefuls (except for Huntsman; his invitation must have gotten lost in the mail). During his introduction of Perry, Jeffress encouraged attendees to vote for "a genuine follower of Jesus Christ," and later called Mitt Romney a "member of a cult" and said "the idea that Mormonism is a cult is not some fringe conser- vative idea." According to Slate.com , Jeffress "hung out for a few hours, taking cell phone calls, doing live TV hits, repeating the word `cult' a few times every minute." The non-relevant of religion was a player in the presidential elections and has seemingly been highlighted these past few days. However, this time around, Mitt Romney might benefit from all this negativity regarding his religious beliefs. Jeffress, with his relentless and bigoted views, has created a need and even a desire to sympathize for Romney. There couldn't have been anybody better than Jeffress to coordinate such attacks - in the words of Jon Huntsman, "a moron." Jeffress has rubbed the crowds the wrong way. Wellknown and diverse individuals have responded to Jeffress' Mormon-cult assertion as "bigoted," from former Reagan official Bill Bennett to James Fallows, a former speechwriter for Carter. Jeffress' comment also moved former FOX News star and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Glenn Beck to tears. Well, no surprise there. In an interview with Anderson Cooper, Jeffress did not drop his attacks. He remained firm in the belief that Mormons are not Christians and that members of the Mormon Church are part of a cult. Jeffress defined a cult as a group of people "that look to other religious texts outside the Bible for their guidance." Jef- fress then clarified that those who subscribe to Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism as their source of theological enlightenment are part of cults as well. However, while this newfound sympathy might help Romney right now, other hurdles remain that need to be cleared. Poll after poll suggests that Americans are simply not ready or feel uncomfortable with the thought of having a Mormon president. Some don't know enough about the Mormons and fear what they don't generally understand. Others know the Mormons very well and fear that a Mormon president would instigate Mormon standards on American life. In the past, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and William Taft were accused of being atheists during elections campaigns. During the campaign of JFK, many believed his Catholic beliefs might be an instigator of a Papist-controlled government. It didn't happen then and it won't happen now. No president thus far has been a nonChristian; their beliefs did not shape their policies or their presidency, and it won't shape the policies or the possible presidency of Mitt Romney. It's time we learn from the past and the mistakes thereof and become an educated people before we go around making comments that are off-color and false. Comment on this column at wsusignpost.corn. Pragmatic Perspective How not to be an effective diplomat SoRRY. WE. DON'T ADM ITANYOKIE W1-10 BELIEVESTAX CUTS FOR THE RICI-ICREATE TOBS. I work in retail sales, Nathan Mikami and I think all of us have exThe Signpost perienced the columnist wrath, whether directly or indirectly, of a disgruntled customer at the customer service desk of a retail store. What doesn't happen as often is witnessing a fit thrown by an employee of the establishment, but that is precisely what I experienced recently in my place of employment. Now, I should make it clear that this fit-throwing employee was not from our location, but rather one of our sister stores, thus his behavior was in no way a reflection on my managers, who handled the situation incredibly well considering the out-of-line and childish manner in which the upset party was behaving. Witnessing this encounter made me realize ever more clearly why there is so much unrest and violent bickering in our world today. I learned a valuable lesson in diplomacy from this pathetic display and, more specifically, I learned what is absolutely detrimental to diplomacy and effective and meaningful dialogue aimed at accomplishing something positive. Lesson 1: In diplomacy, we need to seek for understanding and not jump to any conclusions. For the sake of simplicity, we will henceforth refer to the tizzy-fit-throwing employee as Jeff (it's generic, and I do know his name, but I'll take the high road and hide his identity). Jeff ","%ietiqvgigiFppow . Editor in Chief Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Business Editor Spencer Garn Stephanie Simonson Kasey Van Dyke Nathan Davis Bryan Butterfield Cole Spicker 626-7121 626-7614 626-7655 626-7983 626-8071 626-7621 The Signpost is a stude nt publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Options or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. came into the store with guns blazing, demanded to speak with our manager and, without any attempt to understand the situation, he immediately began to make ridiculous and baseless accusations that did nothing but solidify his absolute ignorance and lack of tact. It was as if he preemptively made an attack on our store based on less-than-reliable information. And I think we all know how preemptive strikes based on shady information have gone in the past. True diplomacy requires common ground, asking and listening, and, above all, meaningful, constructive and continual dialogue, all of which Jeff failed to do, and that is precisely why his vendetta was completely and embarrassingly fruitless. Lesson 2: Nobody likes a tough guy. You know when a small, rodent-sized dog starts to bark and nip at your heels, but once you take a step toward the pest, it cowers and suddenly the "tough guy" attitude turns into whimpering and backtracking? Well, that is exactly what happened to poor little Jeff. As I mentioned before, he came in as a total tough guy, fully prepared for battle, but once we took a step of truth toward him, he had no other choice but to whimper and leave the store shamefully. An aggressive tough-guy attitude with nothing to show for it will get you nowhere in this world. There are many different world leaders who are outwardly and vocally tough, but realistically weak and vulnerable. They are Features Editor A&E Editor Copy Editor Adviser Ads Manager Office Manager Jerrica Archibald Kory Wood Alexandria Waltz Shane Farver Shelley Hart Georgia Edwards weak and vulnerable because, like Jeff, they fail to realize that aggressive and angry language is not a scholarly means of persuasion. The sooner Jeff and the other "tough guys" of the world realize this fact, the better off the world will be. Lesson 3: True diplomacy requires a certain level of professionalism, intelligence and class. What I haven't mentioned before is that this entire incident involving Jeff happened in front of several customers. It was so blatantly out of line that our customers were getting upset with Jeff and his - to say the least -lack of professionalism, class and intelligence. The professional, intelligent and classy diplomat would have requested a personal meeting between leaders to discuss possible discrepancies to be settled through the best and most mutually beneficial means possible. This is a very large step that Jeff, along with his fellow unprofessional, unintelligent and classless diplomats, completely failed to do, and the results are dead ends and shameful, fruitless diplomatic defeat. There are obviously many other aspects of diplomacy, but my experience with Jeff has shed some light on the matter. If only we could all be perfect diplomats, but as long as there are still Jeffs in the world, there will be a need for improved diplomacy. Comment on this column at wsusignpost.corn. 626-7624 626-7105 626-7659 626-7526 626-6359 626-7974 The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Letters should not exceed 350 words. 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