[Vision2020] A Little Coffee Klatch

[Art Deco]

A letter to the *Daily News* appears below.

The *Five Wives* labeling of a commercial vodka produced and sold in Utah
gives us an insight into the nature of the Rorschach Test.  Many people
immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was a barb aimed at the
polygamous history of the Mormon faith.

However, it could have equally stood for five wives in a neighborhood who
were friends and frequently visited with one another perhaps over
mid-morning coffee.  Even if it referred to polygamy, such a reference need
not be taken as derogatory.  Mormons, as anyone who has read anthropology
knows, are not the only group in history, even recent history, known to
have been polygamous.  That institution served many older societies quite
well.

I am disappointed, but not surprised, that there has been no outcry from
the conservatives and TPers who claim to be libertarians and against
government interference with free enterprise. Perhaps, a question about
this issue ought be raised with the candidates for the Idaho House and
Senate in the many local political forums soon to be inflicted on the
public.

w.

___________

The most obvious question to ask regarding the state of Idaho's decision to
ban the Utah-produced "Five Wives" vodka brand on religious grounds is a
common-sense demographic one. Assuming there is a measurable subset of
Idaho Mormons prone to be offended by this gently humorous and
nonpornographic riff on polygamy, how many such people are likely to be
lurking in the vodka section of the liquor store, pretty much the only
place said offense is likely to occur?

Other questions tend in a political direction, mostly concerning separation
of church and state and the government's role in promoting the interests of
a particular religion, as well as the role of government in censoring
speech, limiting free commerce and perhaps advantaging the economic
interests of one religious group, as versus what appear to be secular
business owners and workers. I thought Idaho conservatives opposed
intrusive Big Government and nanny-state regulation, and favored
unrestricted free trade.

Who within the Idaho state bureaucracy actually made the decision to
economically sanction and punish a non-Mormon, Utah-based business? Was
there any quid pro quo involving the reciprocal advantaging of Idaho-based
companies doing business in Utah? And whose idea was this in the first
place? Was the decision initially motivated or influenced by
nongovernmental interests, and if so, which ones?

Idaho citizens concerned with these kinds of questions can contact Idaho
Civil Liberties Union, or the national ACLU.

*Chris Norden*

Moscow

-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20120605/e139ae84/attachment.html>