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Mitt Romeny[/caption]While members of the media seem to treat politicians as sterotypes and targets for derision often what is overlooked is a human factor of what they do that is good and exemplary, like a Romney family member's own example of a profile of courage.
Mitt Romney was mocked for a photo related to his adopted, African American grandson during his election campaign against Barack Obama for the Presidency. One of the news commentators of MSNBC, Melissa Harris Perry made fun of a photo of the Romney family shown with the newest family member, an African American child. She later apologized, and Mitt Romney accepted the apology. But Harris Perry might well have been advised to know the Romney family history before casting aspersions on character.
At a time when the Mormon church struggled with its endogenous racial discrimination represented by the church interpretation of the story in the Book of Genesis of Cain`s killing of his brother Abel came that dramatic example of that Romney family courage. The church`s interpretation of God`s punishment was the black skin assigned to Cain so that people forevermore would recognize the skin color and remember it as negative, especially given the further interpretation that God also cast Cain aside and directed he be separated from his brethren. The doctrine was used to justify slavery during America`s period of slavery and segregation. But family patriarch, George Romney separated himself from the segregationist mindset in his compassion for a civil rights worker from his state who was shot and killed as she was in the South helping voter registration of African Americans.
Viola Liuzzo was a mother of several children who went on that mission to work with other civil rights workers and was murdered by Ku Klux Klan members while driving on a highway with 19-year old Lerot Moton following one of those voter registration events. The violent hilling of Liuzzo came on the heels of the famous march on Selma in 1965, where television images showed violent attacks by white citizens and police on the civil rights workers in the march.
George Romney responded passionately to the violent killing of Liuzzo by declaring a day of mourning and affirming his commitment to the rights of all people, regardless of color. This advocacy was in direct contrast to Mormon practice at the time, as he joined other political figures in reminding people of all political persuasions that the United States doctrines of equality must umbrella everyone.
So while media folk often relish poking fun at politicians in sometimes cruel ways, it might be good to remember those examples of the good they do, just as we need to shine a light on anyone who offers an example of humanitarian justice.