The Utah Jazz: The One True Team? *

I got a kick out of this article.  I especially thought it was funny that the Deseret News pointed out that the Jazz went on a 27-11 run after President Monson tapped Jerry Sloan on the shoulder.  HA!  And, I Gotta hand it to any guy who wears a suit and tie to a Jazz game, too.

* [Editor's Note: The title change reflects Donna's fine suggestion in the comments] 

 

Musings of a Modern-day Mormon . . . Moderate??

I’m all about online quizzes these days for some reason.  Last time it was religion, this time politics, next time . . . who knows.  Anyway, for anyone remotely interested in politics, please visit ThePoliticalCompass.org and have a go at their online test.  Of all the rate-yourself-on-the-political-spectrum quizzes out there, this one gave me pause for a couple of reasons:

1.  This quiz rates political views on a two-dimensional* scale, as opposed to the standard left/right only spectrum.  Specifically, the X-Axis represents your economic** position, and the Y-Axis represents your social** position.  It then maps the results on the X/Y grid and allows you to compare your location to (their interpretation of) various world leaders, politicians, economists, etc.

2.  As you can see below, the results place me almost dead on center of both spectrums.  Wh-wh-what?!?!?  (Aren’t all Mormons supposed to be right-wing whackos?)  Sheesh, talk about an identity crisis.

 

Anyway, my official coordinates are (note the decimal places): Economic Left/Right: 0.75 and Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.51.  In other words, I am just barely a fraction to the right of center, and even less of a fraction above center . . . which is shocking to this card-carrying Republican, to say the least. 

For the record, I know the common responses to this silly little exercise are probably the correct responses (who cares about labeling, it’s the issues that matter, etc).  But suppose for a second this is an accurate and meaningful way to compare some elements of human ideology.  My questions, then, would be: Is it ok to use the M-Word when describing oneself??  Can I grant myself permission to be a M-m-m-moderate?!?!?  Or, should I stick to my conservative guns (pun intended) come heck or high-water?  And more importantly, is it possible to be truly informed and passionate about a social or economic issue whist maintaining a position in the center?

It’s that last question that has me really scratching my bald head.  Is it possible to be passionate and moderate at the same time?  Or does information and/or passion tend to move one toward the outskirts of the spectra over time?

To be honest, I’m not sure.  I’m going to noodle on this for a while, and I’d appreciate your thoughts . . .

Cheers,
jph3

*  FYI – The authors of this website are clearly not physicists, as they describe the “categories of ‘right’ and ‘left’” as a one- (not two-) dimensional scale.  But in their terms, a ‘Dimension’ refers to a political spectrum, not a plane of time and space.  So, to them, a grid with an X and Y axis is two- (not three-) dimensional. 

** Be sure to read the analysis and other explanatory info on the site to understand their definitions.  The FAQs are helpful as well.

Proud To Be 100% Mormon

And for the record, I am also 87% Orthodox Quaker, 65% Sikh, 55% Hindu, and 37% Neo-Pagan. 

At least that’s according to the Belief-O-Matic Quiz at beliefnet.com.  A fun (but obviously not that much more than fun) little run through a series of online questions designed to assess (read: label?) your beliefs about God and such. 

And, thank goodness I have a dash of Taoism in me, cuz without it, I could not adequately explain my love of ‘wu wei’ (“non-action“) and therefore excuse my love of sitting on the couch watching the tube-o-rama all day.  That IS what they mean by ‘passivism’ right??

Anyway, check it out.  See what you end up with.

Cheers,
jph3

PS:  Here’s the grand tally:

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (100%)  Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (92%)  Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestant (90%)  Orthodox Quaker (87%)  Jehovah’s Witness (87%)  Bahá’í Faith (82%)  Seventh Day Adventist (79%)  Eastern Orthodox (75%)  Roman Catholic (75%)  Orthodox Judaism (73%)  Sikhism (65%)  Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (64%)  Liberal Quakers (64%)  Islam (58%)  Hinduism (55%)  Reform Judaism (54%)  Secular Humanism (54%)  Unitarian Universalism (48%)  Jainism (46%)  Mahayana Buddhism (43%)  Theravada Buddhism (43%)  New Thought (37%)  Neo-Pagan (37%)  New Age (33%)  Scientology (31%)  Nontheist (19%)  Taoism (13%)