It's a Beautiful Day in Happy Valley
A disturbing article appeared in the New York Times last Sunday (may require registration to read). It explores George W. Bush's continuing popularity in Utah, hinting at the reason behind this anomaly without quite explaining it. The outrageous quotes therein from Bush-faithful Utahns just make me want to fly back there and slap a few people silly, all the while screaming "What planet do you live on?!?" in their faces.
"When I watch him, I see a man with his heart in the right place," said Delia Randall, a 22-year-old mother from Provo, the hub of a county that gave Senator John Kerry just 11 percent of the presidential vote in 2004. "I like George Bush because he is God fearing, and that's how a lot of people in this area feel."
The individual citations don't scare me, particularly: the reporter clearly sifted his material for the looniest people available. It's the statistics that make me fear for the future of America. Eleven percent for Kerry? Any guess as to how many of those eleven percent are not immigrants from California? And as a former Utah resident, I can tell you that the people quoted aren't that far out on the fringe relative to the majority in the state.
"I'm against the war in Iraq - and what happened with Hurricane Katrina, well, it was a failure by everybody," said Ron Craft, a sales manager in Provo who said he was a devout Mormon and a strong conservative who considered himself independent politically. "I tend to judge a person by their character. And President Bush reminds me of President Reagan. He's a man of principle."
Some Utah residents merely follow the right-wing party line, confusing hatred and bizarre, puritanical morality for "family values":
"He's strong, and he doesn't waver," said Jaren Olsen, 18, a freshman at Brigham Young, the nation's largest religiously affiliated private university, who is from Albany. "I like that he is for the family, that marriage should only be between a man and woman. And the war, we need to finish what we started."
Do these people get any of their current events from any source besides Faux News? (To his credit, it takes a certain amount of chutzpah to parade one's bigotry before 300 million people without so much as a whisper of self-consciousness.)
The Wasatch Front, where most Utahns live, has earned the derogatory nickname "Happy Valley," primarily for its bland, cheery optimism in the face of reality. For example,
"I like [Bush's] honesty," said Allison Wilkey, a mother of three.
Yet the most telling statement of all is this one:
Another student at Brigham Young, Danielle Pulsipher, a junior, offered blanket approval of the president. Asked to name which of his actions as president she liked most, she was hard-pressed to answer.
"I'm not sure of anything he's done, but I like that he's religious - that's really important," Ms. Pulsipher said.
Growing up in Utah, I got far more exposure to Mormon culture than I wanted. The opinions shown here perfectly reflect the archetypal Mormon mindset. Foremost among the Church's ideals is obedience to authority-in particular, religious authority. Critical thinking is heavily discouraged.
The president of the LDS Church2 goes by the official title "Prophet, Seer and Revelator." Devout Mormons believe that the P, S & R receives revelation direct from God. Of course a US president who makes so much of his brotherly relationship with God will find favor with Mormons (his actions notwithstanding).
"In interviews, [Utah] voters uniformly said they were standing by the president, even as they listed things they disagreed with." This, too, is hardly surprising, in light of the Church's history. The earliest Mormons stayed true to Joseph Smith, the very first P, S & R, despite a few insignificant peccadilloes, such as, oh, marrying other men's wives.
Denial and double-think are the twin pillars upon which Happy Valley is built. Check out this list of (laudable) "Family Values", and try to square them with the Bush administration's policies. Mercy? Kindness? Unselfishness? Can you think of any three concepts more antithetical to the concept of "George W. Bush"? In Mormondom, words clearly speak louder than actions. It's the impression of godliness that counts.
Mormon indoctrination isn't always successful. I had Mormon friends in Utah who clearly understood that the majority of LDS doctrine is a steaming pile of patriarchal horseshit, but still felt comfortable with the culture. On second thought, a little denial probably helps here, too.
Fortunately, it sounds as though even the Utah faithful are starting to break away from Bush:
Democrats say no state has had a bigger swing in opinion polls this year than Utah, with Mr. Bush's approval rating falling 15 points this spring. Wayne Holland, the chairman of the Democratic Party in Utah, said residents here were "more trusting, more patient with a president, but when it finally starts to go south, it really drops."
We can only hope. Still, if Bush could run again, and the election were held right now, the Democrats would be hard pressed to find someone who could beat him in Utah.2
Keywords: hook, line, sinker
___________________________
1Church of Latter-day Saints.
2To put the problem in context, in the 1992 election, Perot got more of Utah's votes than Clinton.
"When I watch him, I see a man with his heart in the right place," said Delia Randall, a 22-year-old mother from Provo, the hub of a county that gave Senator John Kerry just 11 percent of the presidential vote in 2004. "I like George Bush because he is God fearing, and that's how a lot of people in this area feel."
The individual citations don't scare me, particularly: the reporter clearly sifted his material for the looniest people available. It's the statistics that make me fear for the future of America. Eleven percent for Kerry? Any guess as to how many of those eleven percent are not immigrants from California? And as a former Utah resident, I can tell you that the people quoted aren't that far out on the fringe relative to the majority in the state.
"I'm against the war in Iraq - and what happened with Hurricane Katrina, well, it was a failure by everybody," said Ron Craft, a sales manager in Provo who said he was a devout Mormon and a strong conservative who considered himself independent politically. "I tend to judge a person by their character. And President Bush reminds me of President Reagan. He's a man of principle."
Some Utah residents merely follow the right-wing party line, confusing hatred and bizarre, puritanical morality for "family values":
"He's strong, and he doesn't waver," said Jaren Olsen, 18, a freshman at Brigham Young, the nation's largest religiously affiliated private university, who is from Albany. "I like that he is for the family, that marriage should only be between a man and woman. And the war, we need to finish what we started."
Do these people get any of their current events from any source besides Faux News? (To his credit, it takes a certain amount of chutzpah to parade one's bigotry before 300 million people without so much as a whisper of self-consciousness.)
The Wasatch Front, where most Utahns live, has earned the derogatory nickname "Happy Valley," primarily for its bland, cheery optimism in the face of reality. For example,
"I like [Bush's] honesty," said Allison Wilkey, a mother of three.
Yet the most telling statement of all is this one:
Another student at Brigham Young, Danielle Pulsipher, a junior, offered blanket approval of the president. Asked to name which of his actions as president she liked most, she was hard-pressed to answer.
"I'm not sure of anything he's done, but I like that he's religious - that's really important," Ms. Pulsipher said.
Growing up in Utah, I got far more exposure to Mormon culture than I wanted. The opinions shown here perfectly reflect the archetypal Mormon mindset. Foremost among the Church's ideals is obedience to authority-in particular, religious authority. Critical thinking is heavily discouraged.
The president of the LDS Church2 goes by the official title "Prophet, Seer and Revelator." Devout Mormons believe that the P, S & R receives revelation direct from God. Of course a US president who makes so much of his brotherly relationship with God will find favor with Mormons (his actions notwithstanding).
"In interviews, [Utah] voters uniformly said they were standing by the president, even as they listed things they disagreed with." This, too, is hardly surprising, in light of the Church's history. The earliest Mormons stayed true to Joseph Smith, the very first P, S & R, despite a few insignificant peccadilloes, such as, oh, marrying other men's wives.
Denial and double-think are the twin pillars upon which Happy Valley is built. Check out this list of (laudable) "Family Values", and try to square them with the Bush administration's policies. Mercy? Kindness? Unselfishness? Can you think of any three concepts more antithetical to the concept of "George W. Bush"? In Mormondom, words clearly speak louder than actions. It's the impression of godliness that counts.
Mormon indoctrination isn't always successful. I had Mormon friends in Utah who clearly understood that the majority of LDS doctrine is a steaming pile of patriarchal horseshit, but still felt comfortable with the culture. On second thought, a little denial probably helps here, too.
Fortunately, it sounds as though even the Utah faithful are starting to break away from Bush:
Democrats say no state has had a bigger swing in opinion polls this year than Utah, with Mr. Bush's approval rating falling 15 points this spring. Wayne Holland, the chairman of the Democratic Party in Utah, said residents here were "more trusting, more patient with a president, but when it finally starts to go south, it really drops."
We can only hope. Still, if Bush could run again, and the election were held right now, the Democrats would be hard pressed to find someone who could beat him in Utah.2
Keywords: hook, line, sinker
___________________________
1Church of Latter-day Saints.
2To put the problem in context, in the 1992 election, Perot got more of Utah's votes than Clinton.