Inside Polygamy and Religion

I am watching “Inside Polygamy: Life in Bountiful” on the National Geographic Channel. This show documents the polygamous lifestyle in a Mormon church in Canada. The leader of the church, Winston Blackmore, has approximately 25 wives and near 100 children and grand-children. One of their core beliefs is that polygamy, especially with their spiritual leader, will bring them closer to heaven. In some of the interviews with the wives, they freely admit the jealousy that sometimes overcomes them. While some of the woman interviewed had a very positive experience with the other wives, there is one woman who viewed the polygamous relationship as sexual exploitation and tried to leave after being suicidal for two years. However, when she attempted to escape, her husband locked her up in a room and spewed insults and curses at her. While in the room she said to God, “God, if these are your people then send me to hell because I don’t want to be with them.” She eventual was able to escape.

Winston Blackmore answers to a higher power within the church known as the “Prophet” or Warren Jeffs. Within the church, the prophet may provide a preacher with a wife, sometimes a young child of the age of 12 or older. It is seen as a dishonor to the prophet if one does not accept the arranged marriage. Thus, the marriage of underage girls would sometimes happen.

Within the church, it was believed that certain crimes were so sinful that they could only be cured with blood atonement, the act of spilling the sinner’s blood. The Prophet of the church wanted to punish a young girl with blood atonement for running from an arranged marriage to a man twice her senior. The young child was taken in by Winston Blackmore who split from the main church after this event. Winston makes it clear that polygamy is a moral choice and the wives freely admit that it should be a choice.

What was interesting about this show is the way they portray polygamy. Of course, we have to look at this situation in the context of the church. Polygamy within this church comes across as a way for a man to have multiple sex partners and multiple women with whom he can have sexual relations. Perhaps it is even viewed as a test for God as a way to prove their ability to work with and overcome jealousy.

Aside from the polygamous aspect, the show also gave the impression that the Mormon religion full of crazy people. That people in this religion engage in underage arranged marriages and multiple wives for sex exploitation.

In order to understand an idea, we must understand that in life, all things vary, all things have variance. There are variances in the way people view and live polygamy just as there are variances in religion. In religion there are many variances rom fundamental believers to people who may not practice the religion but still believe in the teachings and ideas. It is important that we come to understand this idea and learn not to judge groups of people based on a minority or on a common belief of that group.

I admit, when the show began I felt angry about the way they were portraying polygamy. However, as the show continued, and emphasized this single group as an isolated case and as fundamental believers who had their own problems within the church, I came to realize the importance of not taking this case out of context and not to judge this group for their beliefs. Though I may not agree with their ideas, I can respect that this is the life they have chosen. And I can accept that though this is how they view and live polygamy, not everyone has similar views.

I do hope, however, that the media will someday portray positive views of polygamy and religion and many other topics that are often viewed with negative connotations.

(Note: I am very angry with the way media portrays many things, specifically sex and gender roles/ identity. The media is such a powerful tool and can be used to change people’s views as it has so many times in history.)

I think this show was very informational and provided a small and isolated view at a religion and a way of life that I feel most people are unaware of. And I emphasize again that we must look at everything with the context of the situation. We cannot take this case and say that all Mormons are impractical and that polygamy is simply another word for sex exploitation, because it’s not true. This idea may be true for some people and in some situations, but it is not the case for every situation. It is important that we ask individuals who may practice polygamy or Mormonism, what they personally believe and follow so as to not group them into a preconceived notion.

Life's Changes

Mmere Dane

A Symbol of Change and Life Dynamics

Mmere Dane is a symbol suggesting how change is inevitable. "Time changes." The turning points of change are usually accompanied by distress or season's of dissatisfaction. Sometimes we wish to embrace change but it doesn't happen as easily as we'd like. We are all born into an environment of change and ride on the winds of change, which is the life dynamic. When we can accept this, our soul surfs the waves of life in peace. The symbol reminds us to flow with life's movements. (http://www.uniquespeakboutique.com/html/gallerylightingadinkra.html)

The world is full of change, thus humans are full of change too. To say that a person does not change over time is to say that they never learn new things or explore new interests. It is silly to think that such a condition is true. Many view change as a bad thing, but that is because they cannot see the beauty of it. When summer dies and winter comes, is this not a change? Is not winter a beautiful thing to behold, to view the world in hibernation, waiting for a new day. And when winter turns into spring and the flowers begin to bloom, and the leaves show off their beautiful vibrant colors, a sign of life, is this, too, not a change? If nature can change, and be so beautiful, then why can’t people change in much the same way? Change is a part of life, and it is something to embrace.

Life is also about relationships, the relationships we have may be with friends, lovers, family, or even animals. And within these relationships, we can witness change in the people we know and love. Though some may feel threatened by this change, it is not something to feel threatened by. It is, instead, something we must learn to embrace, we must observe the changes, and work to understand them. Many times people change due to the environment they are exposed to. Think of college, many young minds come in with their own thoughts and knowledge, but someone comes along and challenges those ideas. The person then changes their way of thinking and viewing things to fit with that of the challenger. The things we learn can change our views. We are constantly changing to fit our environment. When the people we love and hold dear change, we are provided with an opportunity to change with them, to learn more about them, and thus form a stronger connection.

So be not afraid of change, instead, accept it as a way of life, a way of learning. To cast out those who change near you is to cast out opportunities for yourself and is thus a foolish endeavor. We must strive to understand the balance and beauty that change can bring about. Of course, with all things, there are two sides to a story. Thus, change can bring about destruction, and we must learn to recognize such changes. However, more often than not, I would say change is a good thing, and it is something we must be willing to see and accept.

May-dah-say

(May-Dah-Say means thank you in Twi, one of the languages spoken by the Akan of West Africa in Ghana. The symbol above is an Adinkra symbol used by the Akan.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adinkra_symbols, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_language http://goafrica.about.com/od/africanlanguages/a/thanks.htm

Intro

Sadly, the answer is not 42, though I'm sure with enough effort and numerology it could be :) This blog is about life. In it I will talk about social phenomena, the psychology of human behavior, and many other aspects of culture and people as a whole and as individuals. Gender studies may also be a topic as well as human sexuality,music, dance and anything "punk" (steampunk, atompunk, disealpunk, goth...punk? lol) . So, yeah, basically everything :)

Hope that doesn't sound too boring, as I will also write about humor and the fun things in life. As well as the simple joy and simplicity that life can bring us.

Why am I writing this, you ask? Well, partly to improve my writing, but also to share my ideas with the world. People enjoy reading rants and comics that other people find, and they especially love sharing what they've learned. I suppose it's also a way to document what I've learned. As an undergrad studying elementary education, it is important for me to continue learning outside the classroom so that I may become a better person and a better teacher. Also, this will help me become more acquainted with technology, which is an important skill for a teacher to have.

All in all, I hope you enjoy my blog and perhaps learn things from it, or maybe even challenge what I say. :)