Bigamy, Polygamy, Polyandry, Gay Marriage and Utah
Now, because they were so willing to go public about their "arrangement" through this TV reality show, the city of Lehi has decided to prosecute. Lame.
So I've been thinking about this. You know, a hundred and fifty plus years ago, the events of polygamy laid out my very existence. Yep, I come from several polygamist families of the early LDS church. And that is why I exist. And also, even homosexuals are allowed to cohabitate and express their love behind closed doors in the way they choose. Yes, gays have more rights than polygamists in this country. Yet at least half the world is okay with the practice of polygamy in THEIR cultures. And here is the city of Lehi, with officials who most likely came from polygamist ancestors and they are trying to incriminate them?
So it's ridiculous.
Law enforcement will prosecute a man willing to marry and take care of several women, but do little to nothing about a man who gets women pregnant and leaves. Also, Hue Heffner. No one goes after him, though he lives with three women at a time less than half his age and refuses to marry any of them. Come on. That's okay but a man who marries them is not?
And then I was talking about this whole deal with my roommate and about the ridiculousness. She is a convert. She is not from polygamist ancestors. And she sees the ridiculousness. Why does it matter who people want to marry or if they want to marry more than one person? It doesn't affect anyone but them! And this is our argument we are having and then we realize it is the same argument used for gay marriage. Why does it matter?
But the thing is, like I mentioned before, the issue is not being married legally. Though I'm sure that would be nice for these folks to have that. It is about being able to practice their religion openly and being able to live together openly and not be jailed for it. Gays can live the way they want with their partner right now. They have more rights, under our current system, than this family and others like them. And that is really wrong.
Comments
Joel Feinberg identified once why we find polygamy wrong: "Righteously flaunting one's illicit relationships, according to the Code, is apparently a morally aggravating circumstance, more punishable than its clandestine and deceptive counterpart." For some reason or another, we perceive such things as an elicit relationship.
Here is what we can do about it and find happiness in our own lives: Just forget about what other people have and go through our own lives with a valid end goal in mind. Feinberg also makes that point in "The Psychological Egoist." Our own happiness is inextricably linked to what we have and what we can be, not by misconceptions of what others have in their lives.
To be honest, I think this all stems on one thing our country can't handle and that is sex! We're so GD'ed Puritanical! Meanwhile, it's ok for all the hypocricy of the right to molest boys and be closet gays, but not for anyone else to do it freely (ie be gay, not molest children!). Seriously, our country has major issues.
Peachperry - Thank you for all of that input. However, that was basically more about English law and their religious leaders in the middle ages, and it was also overkill. It didn't have much to do with the Bible (not in any right interpretation, anyway)
The Bible does not, in fact, prohibit polygamy as King David and King Solomon quite clearly had several wives, as did many, many, many (like pretty much ALL) the Old Testament prophets. The seed of Abraham was spread through the whole Earth through polygamy, the 12 tribes of Israel came about because of polygamy, etc, etc...Just saying.