Because I don’t like bullies.

I will not capitulate to bullies.

How’s that for a new year’s resolution?

I LOVE that scene in the first of the Disney Captain America movies where frail, puny Steve Rogers refuses to back down in the face of a merciless beating.  “Because I don’t like bullies,” he explained.  It reminds me, quite frankly, of numerous incidents from my childhood and teenage years.  I was never very good at fighting—in fact, I almost always got my puny butt kicked—but I never backed down or ran away.

And I won’t do it as an adult either.

Recently, I was pulled aside during a rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  I was told that I was the “poster boy” for a social media campaign to embarrass the Choir.  I was told that I was “too expressive,” that images of me with my mouth open wider than the men around me were being used to embarrass the Choir.  I was counselled to tone back my “obvious enthusiasm.”

That’s the age we live in, apparently.  Anyone can take something out of context and use it to try to force others to their will.  In this case, I decided to make sure my mouth wasn’t open too wide.  I made no other adjustments.  And I was recently informed that what I was doing was more than sufficient.

But the images still exist and will still be used by those who, for whatever bizarre reason, want to hurt the Choir and the Church.

Well, I don’t want to embarrass the Choir or the Church, but I will not resign.  So bullies, do your worst.  I won’t let you win.

This has been a year for allowing the bullies to win.

The state of Oregon confiscated all the money in the bank account of a family of bakers who happen to be Christian and refused to participate in a lesbian “wedding”.  This happened just before Christmas.  Well, the bullies—the judge and the lesbian couple (who, by the way, claimed anguish and suffering after deliberately targeting the bakery and being told, “We’re sorry, but we can’t participate in something that violates our conscience.”)—got what they wanted.  But the bakers still won’t participate in gay weddings.  I’ll guess the bullies are just going to have to hit them again.

The president and chancellor of the University of Missouri were forced to resign after cries of “indifference to racism.”  What evidence was presented to ruin the lives of these two men and their families?  A racist incident that occurred OFF-campus, a fictitious report of the use of a racial slur ON-campus, and photos of an anti-Semitic image that were later shown to be dated two years earlier and traced to an incident in another state.  How was any of this the responsibility of the president and the chancellor?  Nevertheless, never let the truth get in the way of a good protest.  They’re out, and the bullies won.

Girls are being forced to share public bathrooms and showers with boys and men who demand to be treated as women.  No matter what a man does to himself to appear to be a woman, he will never be a woman—he will never have the divine potential of womanhood—he will never be the equal of my wife, my daughters, or my granddaughters.  And I will not put my wife, my daughters, or my granddaughters at risk to placate him.

Our police are under siege.  They know that if they defend themselves or the public, they will be prosecuted, even with strong evidence supporting their actions.  Even with no evidence of wrongdoing, these brave men and women will be forced out of their jobs and their communities.  I have a brother who is a police officer in a very dangerous town.  His own neighbors don’t know he’s a cop.  He has to maintain that anonymity to protect his family.  He is a brave and honest man.  And there are people who would kill him and his wife and children, just because he’s a cop.

Today, I read a report of a deputy director of the ACLU who is Muslim and refuses to condemn Islamic terrorism, instead blaming murder and rape on American “islamophobia.”  I pray nobody really listens to this garbage, but I’m sure many will loudly proclaim that you and I are at fault and that you and I need to change before one more little girl is forced into sex slavery or one more Christian is slaughtered.

Our president blames Islamic terrorism on us as well.  It’s because of global warming, you see—because we are driving the monsters to commit rape and murder because we emit too much CO2 (you know—that stuff that comes out when we breathe).  Forget that the world hasn’t warmed and is, in fact, cooling, and has been for nearly two decades.  No, rape and murder are caused by my fuel-efficient car and my wife’s reasonably fuel-efficient SUV.  Sorry, Mr. President.  I’m not buying what you’re shoveling.  (And frankly, neither are you if your personal use of fossil fuels is any indicator.)  And you can fine me or send me to jail, but you won’t change my heart.

I’m done with catering to bullies.  I’ll make reasonable accommodations to help those around me, even people I disagree with.  I’ll avoid even the appearance of evil where I can.  I’ll follow my conscience and my faith.

But I will not bow down to bullies any longer.  I won’t open my mouth as wide as before, but I’ll still sing with all my heart and soul, and the emotions engendered by the music and the words will be evident on my face.  I support our cops, our troops, and I stand with Israel.  And I’ll stand with any Muslim who respects the rights of others to live according to their faith and conscience—as I believe most Muslims do.  And if you’re LGBT, I’ll support your right to live your life as you choose, but I will not support your efforts to force anyone else to agree with you or go against their conscience.

This is where I stand.  I may get knocked down and I have been knocked down… and bruised and bloodied as well.  I may get called a bully and hateful, because I don’t agree with whatever philosophy of men happens to be in vogue, but I will follow my conscience.  I will be told, “But your opinion is hurtful.”  My words will be searched and scoured by those hoping to trap me, but I will continue to express my beliefs.  I will not impose them on others, but I will vote and advocate for what I think is right.  You are free to do the same, but if you hoping to bully me into submission or get me to admit to hatred in my heart, you will not succeed.

I’ll keep getting back up.  Because I don’t like bullies.

Care to stand with me?

I know there is One who will always stand with me, so long as I choose to follow Him.