It has been a hobby of mine for some time to study anti-Mormon literature. I haven't been through it all, but I've read my share. If it weren't so sadly ridiculous, it would be funny. I was taught as a young man to question everything and I do. I have found that anti-Mormon literature and attack ads as well as hate from the right and the left have a lot in common. Reaching for the truth is not it. Persuasion by propaganda and twisting accuracy is the commonality.
If you want to be a good "anti-" person, here are a few lessons.
1. Take anything you can out of context. Putting things in quotes helps (see # 10).
2. Associate the person you are against with any fringe person they may know or may have met once. President Obama's picture with the couple who broke into a White House party some months ago is a classic case. He had his picture taken with them, so he must be in favor of breaking into White House parties.
3. Take every stupid thing the person may have said and blow it out of proportion. Please note: we all say stupid things at one time or another (the trick is not to do it all day long). A high school term paper, if one is still extant would be great.
4. Watch for misspellings (see Dan Quayle).
5. Tripping or a bad golf swing automatically condemns a politician (see Gerald Ford). If you are Charles Barkley, you can get away with it even at a Pro-AM.
6. Look for inappropriate relations with the opposite sex, or, better yet, with the same sex. If the person you are trying to defame is dead, all the better (see Abraham Lincoln).
7. Corollary to #6: If you are trying to defend someone who is guilty of #6, find an excuse for the behavior (see Republicans defend a conservative gay candidate for any office).
8. If the person to defame is squeaky clean, find something wrong (see Mitt Romney's dog on vacation).
9. If you can't find anything else, find a family member, friend or associate who is in jail, out of work, had a face lift or has said something really outlandish.
10. If the defame has said "a," "and," or "the," put quotes around it and go with it.
11. Go after the wife. Set her up as an idiot or as a noble soul who has suffered terribly because of her spouse (see Pat Nixon).
12. Most important: lie, lie, lie!. And if you can tie a negative word to the person (see socialist), do it.
There you have it. Professional defaming. Religion or politics, some people make a living at it. It is a facet of our society. Please see through it.
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