Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyAnderson
And that can be a rude response. But I think when you dislike the majority of a people in an area then it's reasonable to expect that they may think you'd be happier elsewhere.
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What a cop out response. I've lived in Utah my whole life. My entire family is here. It's every bit as much my home as it is the Mormon family down the street. Just because I don't like certain politicians or the backward, often bigoted Utah legislature, doesn't mean I'd be more happier anywhere else - and the idea of pissing and moaning about 'em is no different than those who piss and moan about the President and the Congress and yet never seriously contemplate moving out of the country.
I hate that response. I hate it because it suggests I'm not entitled to an opinion since it doesn't subscribe to the majority viewpoint. And I get that isn't exactly what
you are saying - but it surely is implied when people assume I might be happier if I left.
But the reality is, if you're not Mormon in Utah, you are decidedly a minority in almost every aspect of politics and culture. That's just the way it is and has been since my grandparents were kids growing up in Salt Lake City. Utah Mormons, far more than non-Utah Mormons, are a homogeneous bunch and if you're LDS, there is really no problem with that. But if you're not, it can be, at times, overwhelming because the LDS Church, either directly or indirectly, has more impact on Utah culture and politics than any other dominant religion in any other state. That's just the reality and not necessarily an attack. But the bottom line is that Utah hasn't had a non-LDS governor since J. Bracken Lee in the 1950s. The legislature is almost entirely Mormon, even though the state as a whole is diversifying - and it goes beyond just religion. All our representatives in Washington are Mormon, white and male. When was the last time we elected a non-Mormon to congress or the senate?
You'd have to delve deep into the record books for that one because my guess is it hasn't happened since many of us were born.
Is that ultimately a bad thing? If you're Mormon, you probably don't see a problem with it. But if you're not, you feel your voice is often lost among the masses. Then when you complain about it, or want to openly change it, you're given a curt response about living somewhere else.
I don't want to live somewhere else. This is my home. It's always been my home. I love Salt Lake City. That does not mean I blindly accept, however, some of the archaic and dumb laws and dumb legislatures who impose 'em. It doesn't mean I accept this idea that we can't have a more diverse government that looks more like the state instead of what the state looked like 50 or 60 years ago. You know, our government is probably one of the least diverse of any state in the country and no one seems to have a problem with that or if they do have a problem with it, if they do mention it, they're attacked for attacking the LDS Church ... when in reality, it's not personal. I have nothing against Mormons or the LDS Church. But I do have a problem when a voice is so easily dismissed because it doesn't conform to what maybe the majority of the state believes.
I think a diverse government is needed and unfortunately, we don't get it here in Utah. We rail against the legislature year in and year out and at the end of the day, we elect the same people over and over again and they're almost always of the same background.
But as Utah diversifies, sooner or later, it's going to have to reach the capitol and then what? What happens if, in twenty years, we have a more liberal population that accepts some of the more taboo subjects often dismissed by
this society? I wouldn't dare tell those conservatives to look for somewhere else to live because I know, as it is with me, this is their home.
It's hard, I guess, for Mormons to understand exactly where those of us who grew up outside the LDS Church are coming from. It's not like being a Mormon in Rhode Island, a state dominated by Catholicism - yet not to the point where its whole structure is built around that faith. It's a completely different experience and it's hard to put into words without sounding resentful or angry. I'm not angry. But I do get bewildered by how reactionary our legislature is on so many trivial issues. It baffles me that we're so concerned about adults legally drinking that we have to regulate the sale of any alcoholic beverage over 3.2% ABW to the point where you can only buy through the state.
We love freedom and yet, when it comes to legal acts of freedom, we're a state that often lags behind the country - which is ironic considering Utah was the deciding state in repealing prohibition!
You have to order a meal before you order a drink at restaurants. You can't drink heavy beer or malt beverages in a restaurant past midnight. We have limited liquor licenses, which hinders growth and makes it so difficult for many businesses to open up, especially in areas with a high amount of restaurants and clubs ... and those are the rules off the top of my head. Hopefully we can remove the Zion curtain from the list of idiotic rules ... but that's just one step.
So, yeah, I'm going to complain about this. Just as I'm going to complain about how poorly the Jazz are run. But it doesn't mean I want to move or stop cheering for the Jazz. My whole life is here and I don't have to like the legislature to live here. But that doesn't mean we should be told to silently accept our situation and not complain about it. If you can't complain ... how are you going to make sure they hear you?
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