What could be more exotic for the British reading public than the Mormons contained in Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, the first of the famous series with Sherlock Holmes? And what American would predict that Mormons would figure prominently in this work?Published in 1887 and supposedly taking place in 1881, this portrait of Mormons is a bloody and ruthless one. In fact, it reminds me of recent fictional portraits of wild-eyed evangelical sects or cults, Jim Jones, or the shootout at Waco. The long second section is a flashback to the American West providing a background to two murders committed in London that seems to justify killing exaggeratedly wild-eyed and vindictive polygamists--to the point that Holmes in later years wrote an apology to the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Polls suggest that some Americans would never vote for a Mormon. According to a column by commentator Mark Shields,
In 2006, the Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times Poll asked, "Just thinking about a candidates' religion, could you vote for a (Jewish/Catholic/Mormon) for president, or not?" Fourteen percent of registered voters admitted they could not vote for a Jewish nominee for the White House, and 9 percent revealed a similar objection to a Catholic. But a full 35 percent of registered voters said they "could not vote for a Mormon candidate."
Remarkable, really. I could understand if they said they couldn't vote for a Muslim, but a Mormon?
Is the sensationalism of 19th- and 20th-century novelists still affecting 21st-century Americans? Are the media somehow perpetuating stereotypes?
Can the national campaign of Mitt Romney overcome such prejudice? What about the high profile of Harry Reid? Does the public even realize he's a Mormon?
Again, the past isn't dead, is it?
2 comments:
I think, no, the public does not realize he is a Mormon, at least the public beyond Nevada. I would guess they know. You'd think so, anyway. BTW, I was raised Mormon, and I don't have anything negative to say about them. I also don't give a rat's ass what religion someone is in public office, as long as they are working toward the common good. I don't think Reid is at the moment, but that's another issue.
But because a big deal is usually made when anyone who runs for office (or commits a crime, I guess the two go hand-in-hand) is Mormon, Jewish or even Catholic, I am surprised it did not become common knowledge when he became Senate majority leader (or did it, and my head is buried so deep in the sand that I missed it?). It is one of the first things mentioned about him on Wikipedia, but his own site's biography of him doesn't mention it.
That's quite an interesting finding (that his own site doesn't mention it). I don't believe it is common knowledge. When the media talk about Romney's religion, I NEVER hear them mention Harry Reid's. And I live in one of those "all news, all the time" households.
Post a Comment