My Mountain Home So Dear

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I routinely forget that I live in a place that's, well, weird. I mean, most of the time when I think about my surroundings at all, it's about how nice the mountains are. It somehow slips my mind that Utah is, in fact, a sort of strange place to call home.

Want proof?

The city council of Tremonton passed, then (thankfully) quickly repealed a ruling that would require any one under 18 years of age to get permission to check out any title in the 'adult fiction' section. Because nothing will ruin our children's lives faster than providing access to such destructive influences as Dickens and Gerald Lund (that's the example provided by the Des News).

Also, a murder trial here in Utah is probably not going to have Mormons on the jury. Why? Because they believe in Blood Atonement, natch. Though, eliminating two-thirds of a state's population from the pool might be a bit dodgy, non? Also, what if you're Mormon but non-practicing? Would you make the cut?

Lastly, our very own freshman Congressman, Jason Chaffetz, is leading the charge against DC recognizing the same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. Because heaven forbid the Constitution's full faith and credit clause actually, you know, apply. That's not the surprising part. The surprising part is this comment on the Des News article: "No legislative or judicial success can take away the guilt that comes from failure to live up to the evolutionary design to have offspring with an opposite gender mate."

It may be a narrow reading of "No success can compensate for failure in the home." It may also be based on remarkably bad science. And, potentially, reduces marriage to a means of populating the earth. All that aside, I sort of want to cross-stitch it onto a throw pillow.

I still think I'm with Maurine Whipple, though. Zion is probably worth the occasional discomfort.

4 comments:

Oneup said...

Mountains wig me out.They're always looming around. Zion is not somewhere where one is forced to feel claustrophobic, I feel... Think you not?

daine said...

"Occasional discomfort"? I would call it "constant annoyance" at the very least. I am convinced that 99% of all joy I had in Utah was in spite of that state and not, in any way, because of it.

alea said...

oneup: Prairies make me feel squished and it bothers me that you can't get above them and look over them. I guess it's all about what you're used to.

daine: two things. First, I don't think I'm nearly as annoyed by Utah as you are. Maybe I've been worn down? Or, more likely, I just don't care as much. Second, I still maintain that there's world of difference between the experience of living in Provo as a student and living in Salt Lake. It's not nearly so bad up here.

trentathon said...

Funny post. Yeah, Utah is weird, but i also really miss it.
That was a ridiculous quote too from the Deseret News. But I think a major historical reason for marriage is procreation. That's why the government granted couples benefits for getting married. They can't force the population to increase and for babies to be born into stable units, but they can give benefits. Anyway, I have no idea who you are, but I like ur blog.

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