I live in Rexburg Idaho. The place is saturated with incredibly
conservative Mormons. I find that the issues that arise aren't typical for a normal
community. First, there's the issue of taxes. It took us 8 months to
vote in favor of a bond to build a new high school. The citizens dreaded the thought
of raised taxes, no matter the reason. Another issue is the city's response to the people's
fear of taxes. They find ways to accomplish their goals without consent. A 3 million dollar
splash park was installed without any vote. The temperature in Rexburg is below zero most
of the time, so the splash park is completely useless. There was also
an outbreak of E. Coli, heightening the anger of this big waste
of money.
Rexburg is home to BYU-I. The students there are quite pious. A
student went out of her way to research all the hot-cocoas sold at a
store on campus, discovered trace amounts of coffee and petitioned to
have the place closed. My father, who teaches a historical culture
class, has been asked by students to go through textbooks and censor
the "pornographic" (nude) classical art. A technician who had worked at the
college for 30 years was fired on the spot after an offensive remark
he made offhandedly to a student about gays in the military.
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In reference to your comment about the classic art it draws a parallel to some peoples attempt to ban "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" from public schools because it used the word "Nigger". As offensive as the word is today it was considered commonplace in the time of Mark Twain. Just as nude statues where many centuries ago. Things must be taken from the context of when they were created and the culture of that time.
ReplyDelete(and yes i know novels are supposed to be italicized but my computer wont do it)
That would be okay if he censored the pictures in hilarious ways, like pasting pictures of local civic leaders over the offending parts.
ReplyDeleteThe nude art thing is ludicrous because it's not meant to be erotic. Its an artful depiction of the human body, something that our race has been completely fascinated with since the dawn of time. We try to imitate God's creation in sculpture and painting. If you find it arousing, feel guilty, and ultimately offended, you might want to reevaluate what is going through your mind. Of course, there are boundaries, and if you find that some art in a textbook is leading you to think things you shouldn't, by all means put a sticky note over it... but my father was getting complaints about Michelangelo's 'David,' which I find just hilarious. ( http://www.florence-italy-apartments.com/images/Florence-David-Michelangelo.jpg )
ReplyDeleteI find that people trying to completely ban Tom Sawyer only prove their immaturity. However, I would be apposed to teaching Tom Sawyer to a younger audience where imitation of offensive words may be more probably.
I agree that taking offense at sculptures and classic literature is going a bit overboard. Calling it "pornographic" is just absurb. These paintings and statues were made thoughtfully in homage to the aesthetic, not as a quick form of gratification.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel that the more rigid and restricted people try to make themselves, the more they will find unnecessary implications in anything slightly out of their accepted spheres. Someone who has always been exposed to, and has learned to appreciate, such depictions of the human body, will never, never see these works as "pornography". It's unthinkable. It's demeaning to the work's intended effect. It just doesn't make any sense.
I feel that life is a game of balance. It is possible to take the rules too seriously. There's blatant sinning, but on the other side is being pharisaically closed-minded.
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