Barack Obama and Mitt Romney represent two sides of a civil war, the outcome of which will be determined in November. Obama's vision is a postmodern (PoMo), postcolonial (PoCo) America in which truth and lie merge, everything becomes relativistic, rather than based on Christianity, which shaped the beliefs of America's Founders. Then, there is Mitt Romney's America. It embraces our historic destiny. It acknowledges the importance of American Exceptionalism, America's foundational experiment with republican democracy that has shaped our national character and our destiny as a people, providing the social and economic engine of opportunity that have made us the envy of the world. For Mitt Romney, America is imbued with a God-given mission, defined by the tenets of Mormonism, to fulfill its destiny as the Promised Land. As such, Mormonism is the most American of religions.
From Obama's perspective, the Western exertion of power is tantamount to evil, or it would be evil if only postmodernism had a theology that forced it to acknowledge that concept. Instead, Obama tries to diminish America to approximate Fareed Zakaria's concept of a "post-American world" in which the "rise of the rest" renders our great nation impotent and gasping for air.
Mormons -- as written in a piece for TIME magazine -- are accustomed to persecution. Their story is one of belief and persecution, of exile and redemption, of the struggle that ensues in choosing the righteous path while many other Americans are merely preoccupied with the business of living.
In our WEIRD society -- Western, educated, industrial, rich, and democratic -- we have tried to jettison sanctity. We pride ourselves on our cosmopolitan, post-enlightenment sensibility. The very notion of a Western God, let alone an American God, insults our gestalt, our belief in multiculturalism and social justice. That, of course, is the universe inhabited by the Liberal, secular media, for them and their cohorts, "The world is flat." But of course it isn't. Even if technological knowledge seems to be transmitted without boundaries, our world consists of many nations, many peoples, that interpret innovations differently. And what if our destiny is exceptional, divinely inspired or otherwise? As for our committed secularists, let us suggest that the cause of perpetuating America's greatness places demands upon our character.
Since the late 1960s America has lost her way, shedding at least two generations of American talent in her pursuit of countercultural vacuity and decadence. America is running out of time, and so are we. But Democrats and their academic and media mouthpieces -- Meacham et al -- desperately wish to paint Mitt Romney as "the other." They want you to believe Mitt Romney is un-American, that his spiritual beliefs are un-Christian. But as Mitt himself said in an interview with Cathedral Age, "My faith is grounded in the conviction that a consequence of our common humanity is our responsibility to one another -- to our fellow Americans foremost, but also to every child of God."
Recently reporters for the Boston Globe attempt to render a fair-minded biography of Mitt Romney, but fall short. They depict him as having an "obedient nature." Why? Because he supported the Vietnam War and seems comfortable in his dealings with people who have authority. Yes, Mitt Romney understands power. He understands business and the interests of global companies. Nevertheless, he also has the courage to confront power, if necessary, for the cause of American greatness. Liberals, take note: That is not obedience, that is courage. Courage in the face of danger; courage in the knowledge that we face imminent threat and tremendous obstacles; courage in the quest to restore America's destiny in the pursuit of righteous freedom.
This Mitt Romney is evident now from his first presidential debate. Progressives are aghast since this Mitt Romney wasn't the man or the narrative they manufactured. Democrats believe their attack ads should define him. They want you to think Mitt Romney is inhuman. That he doesn't care about you or me. That he has no empathy and is immoral. Surely, this is demonstrated by the fact that he is a "one percenter." How else could they get you to vote for President Obama when his economic policies have failed? Fortunately for us the Democratic attack ads misrepresented Mitt Romney, his character, and his morality. Thankfully, 70 million Americans tuned in to the debate to see the real Mitt.
I hope Americans were listening when Mitt Romney stressed in the debate that our debt is "not just an economic issue, I think it's a moral issue." He added, for emphasis, "I think it's, frankly, not moral for my generation to keep spending massively more than we take in, knowing those burdens are going to be passed on to the next generation, and they're going to be paying the interest and the principal all their lives."
I trust Americans understand that what Mitt Romney suggests is that our debt is increasing exponentially. If we don't take immediate action to stop its exponential growth, we will spend all our revenue just to service the debt without reducing its onerous burden. Think we're in pain now? We can't begin to imagine how difficult the near future will be. Chronic shortages of food, energy, and water. A crumbling infrastructure. Escalating crime. Riots in the streets. Children dying of malnutrition and disease. With no solution available.
The next time Democrats tell you that Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan are mean, that they don't understand our woe, that they're just Republican "fat cats," think again. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are superheroes, trying through superhuman feats to save America from imminent ruin. Our superheroes need our support. Please elect them this November or Metropolis will be lost.
Dr. Diana E. Sheets, an iFoundry Fellow and Research Scholar at the University of Illinois, writes literary criticism, political commentary, and fiction. Much of it can be read on her website, www.LiteraryGulag.com.