Paul Mero

Many popular comedies, past and present, are centered on people, different from the mainstream crowd, looking to fit in. A great example was the 1960s comedy The Beverley Hillbillies. Its theme song describes the whole show – hillbillies strike oil and move to Beverley Hills where they find their back-woods customs and simplistic lives are completely out of place.

These comedies endure through many seasons of tension between the perceived assets of the outsider versus liabilities. In the case of the hillbillies, they had lots of money and quite a few of their neighbors were willing to overlook what they saw as eccentricities to share in that wealth. Alas, no benefit ultimately could overcome the differences. read more

In looking back on the year 2017, Americans have witnessed political, cultural and economic cycles like few other years in recent memory. Personally, I began this year by unaffiliating with the Republican Party. Trump was too much for me to bear. He turned out to be the president many of us thought he would be. He remains ill suited to be the leader of the free world. In fact, I predicted earlier this year that Trump would not make it to the end of the year – either he would resign or be booted from office. Yet, there he remains. read more

Over the past few months, I have been working with a few colleagues to develop a new “Utah Poverty Compact” modeled after the immigration compact released in 2010. The immigration compact changed public opinion nearly overnight. My hope is that a new poverty compact would have the same effect on public opinion and policy makers.

Among my several justifications for creating a new poverty compact, two societal aspects are often overlooked.

First, a poverty compact has the ability to decrease class differences in Utah and set an example for the nation. The nation is torn apart by class warfare. One article has received a lot of attention recently for its call to violence against the rich. The author writes, read more

Where do we go from here now that Roy Moore has been given a justifiably ignominious political burial and the sexual harassment genie is out of the bottle for good? How long will the victims of harassment and abuse continue to come out of the shadows? The stream must be endless. How much harassment and abuse do you think exists in America today? My guess is a lot.

But, as usual, I am more interested in the tougher questions surrounding these atrocities and controversies. For instance, frankly, I do not know how much longer these accusations will last. While I believe that harassment and abuse are rampant today, I am not so sure about the desire of every victim to go public. We see so many Hollywood stars each of whom has their story of harassment and abuse. Naturally, they get a lot of attention. They are in the attention business. read more

Do you want to know why so many Americans identify as independent or, here in Utah, unaffiliated voters? The reason is that partisanship never serves the common good. By its very nature, partisanship is insular, exclusionary and selfish. It encourages bad behavior in the name of a perverse sense of loyalty and it does not serve the public interest.

Of course, the best current example of how partisanship turns otherwise intelligent people into flaming idiots is the Roy Moore candidacy in Alabama. The Republican Senate candidate is accused of gross improprieties with underage girls. The accusations are numerous, detailed and verified – so blatant, in fact, that there is little doubt about their veracity. Politics is not a court of law. It is the court of public opinion. Roy Moore should quit his race. But he won’t. Furthermore, Republican faithful, from the White House to the local courthouse, stand by their man. read more

For many old white male culture warriors, such as myself, the daily streams of sexual harassment allegations are “I told you so” moments. For over 30 years, we have forecast the consequences of family breakdown and the Sexual Revolution. Today, we have every justification to ask, “What did you expect?” Nearly every male accused of sexual harassment and assault is either a long-time defender of women’s rights or gay rights or both – champions of sexual liberation.

Of course, to be fair, some male Hollywood and media stars that champion liberal causes are also happily married and monogamous. But they are so comparatively few to be rightly celebrated as novelties. We admire the morality of Hollywood elder statesman Tom Hanks, on screen and off, but his marital fidelity is the exception to the rule in the star-studded entertainment industry. read more

The continuing saga of Senate candidate Judge Roy Moore no longer requires a set up to explain the controversy. We do not need anyone to tell us what he allegedly did to a number of young women and girls nearly forty years ago. Furthermore, a reasonable person does not need to know more than the Washington Post stories to know that, at the very least, Judge Moore should withdraw from his Senate race in Alabama.

Even so, some issues still need explaining. For instance, what is wrong with the Christian right in this country? Why did they ignore or defend Donald Trump’s sins with women and why now do they ignore or defend Judge Moore? On the other hand, is an avowed person of faith, as Judge Moore, allowed to repent? As difficult as it might be to believe, Judge Moore’s failed memory could be the result of his moving past his bad behavior. One sign of this could be how his wife stands foursquare behind him. And, finally, does everyone understand why, regardless of innocence or guilt, Judge Moore should step down? read more