Friday, May 30, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Polygamy: Good, Bad, or Normal?
Before I begin to talk about my blog on the Polygamist Cult, I would like to properly point out that a Cult is defined as 'a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.' This is telling us that the 'Cult' that is in Eldorado is, as the defenition states, false, or extremist. These people seem to be very real, and have a very rea religion, so is it right to be saying that this is a cult? Or is the Government saying that they are 'false' to get the support to go in to their community?
Now..
As you may have already heard from CNN or other news references, there is a Polygamist Cult in Texas. We have seen this many, many times over the past month about what's been going on in this little community in Eldorado, Texas. When we see the news reports, we may think 'Eww, what are they thinking forcing young women to marry older men?' or 'They should all be taken out of that place and have it burned down!' I was wondering, have we ever taken a step back and really looked at this? This 'cult' has been seen as disgusting, unorthodox, and appalling, but let's think for a minute, where has this situation come up before...ah yes, after 9/11 when all the Arab people were looked down on because they were Muslim. If we look, this is another one of these:
In this case, "We" are everyone in North America, and "They" are the people in the Polygamist Cult. Polygamy is another religion, isn't it? Those people are just that; PEOPLE! Although their beliefs are different, why do we look down upon then with disgust? If we were all Polygamists, and this was, say, a Christian Cult in Eldorado, we would be looking down on them with the same disgust, and would that be right? I know there are children in there being married off to older men, but in the eyes of this cult, this is the "Right" and normal thing to do. Looking at the other side, was it right to go in and take all these children from a place they're used to, a place all their mothers live, and somewhere where they were comfortable to 'save' them from their own religion?I believe that they should be left alone to practise their religion. Who are we to tell people what to believe in?
As for the news coverage, CNN has been very, very one-sided. They have been exploiting the Polygamists as extremely bad people, who can do no right, and who are a menace to Society. But what about the good these people are doing? What about the good parts of their lifestyle? They make their own clothing, quilts, food, etc. but where is that in the news? Those are the five-second explanations of what they do, and then they report all the bad things that they are doing. They should be fair to these people ad help the world understand Polygamy, and not how bad it is for doing what they do. It was stated that there was a little girl who broke free from the cult and called the police to inform them of the goings-on in the cult, but since her 'escape' I haven't seehn hide or hair of this little girl, so where is she? I would like to see an interview with the 'little girl' who called the police!
Now, here's my question: If you were a Polygamist, especially a mother of these children, how would you feel if your children were ripped from you? How would you feel if you were never allowed to see your children again, all because of your religion and your beliefs? Personally, I would feel like I let my children down and I would be really mad at the government for taking my children for the simple reason of practising a belief!
**NEW UPDATE**
Since my blog post of the Polygamists, the wives have been trying terribly to get their children back home safe and sound. Watch this video, and notice that the man says that the 'repoted' phone call was made and that they think it was a HOAX!! I agree with this statement. Now, watch the video.
The polygamist mothers took this issue all the way up to the State Supreme court, where they won and were granted the custody of their children. I am really happy for these people, because, like I have said before, they did not deserve to have their children ripped away from them because of an alleged phone call from a girl who hasn't been found yet. Don't you think she would have come out into the open and told news about her 'middle-aged husband who beat her'. I do, which makes this even more interesting, right? Watch this video about the Polygamist Wives and Husbands getting back their children!
Now..
As you may have already heard from CNN or other news references, there is a Polygamist Cult in Texas. We have seen this many, many times over the past month about what's been going on in this little community in Eldorado, Texas. When we see the news reports, we may think 'Eww, what are they thinking forcing young women to marry older men?' or 'They should all be taken out of that place and have it burned down!' I was wondering, have we ever taken a step back and really looked at this? This 'cult' has been seen as disgusting, unorthodox, and appalling, but let's think for a minute, where has this situation come up before...ah yes, after 9/11 when all the Arab people were looked down on because they were Muslim. If we look, this is another one of these:
"Us" "Them"
"Good" vs. "Bad"
"Right" "Wrong"
In this case, "We" are everyone in North America, and "They" are the people in the Polygamist Cult. Polygamy is another religion, isn't it? Those people are just that; PEOPLE! Although their beliefs are different, why do we look down upon then with disgust? If we were all Polygamists, and this was, say, a Christian Cult in Eldorado, we would be looking down on them with the same disgust, and would that be right? I know there are children in there being married off to older men, but in the eyes of this cult, this is the "Right" and normal thing to do. Looking at the other side, was it right to go in and take all these children from a place they're used to, a place all their mothers live, and somewhere where they were comfortable to 'save' them from their own religion?I believe that they should be left alone to practise their religion. Who are we to tell people what to believe in?
As for the news coverage, CNN has been very, very one-sided. They have been exploiting the Polygamists as extremely bad people, who can do no right, and who are a menace to Society. But what about the good these people are doing? What about the good parts of their lifestyle? They make their own clothing, quilts, food, etc. but where is that in the news? Those are the five-second explanations of what they do, and then they report all the bad things that they are doing. They should be fair to these people ad help the world understand Polygamy, and not how bad it is for doing what they do. It was stated that there was a little girl who broke free from the cult and called the police to inform them of the goings-on in the cult, but since her 'escape' I haven't seehn hide or hair of this little girl, so where is she? I would like to see an interview with the 'little girl' who called the police!
Now, here's my question: If you were a Polygamist, especially a mother of these children, how would you feel if your children were ripped from you? How would you feel if you were never allowed to see your children again, all because of your religion and your beliefs? Personally, I would feel like I let my children down and I would be really mad at the government for taking my children for the simple reason of practising a belief!
**NEW UPDATE**
Since my blog post of the Polygamists, the wives have been trying terribly to get their children back home safe and sound. Watch this video, and notice that the man says that the 'repoted' phone call was made and that they think it was a HOAX!! I agree with this statement. Now, watch the video.
The polygamist mothers took this issue all the way up to the State Supreme court, where they won and were granted the custody of their children. I am really happy for these people, because, like I have said before, they did not deserve to have their children ripped away from them because of an alleged phone call from a girl who hasn't been found yet. Don't you think she would have come out into the open and told news about her 'middle-aged husband who beat her'. I do, which makes this even more interesting, right? Watch this video about the Polygamist Wives and Husbands getting back their children!
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