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The World They Know
(C) Doug Smeath, 1996
A Utahn is a naive, innocent, myopic creature. Yet, at
the same time, he is hypocritical and self-righteous. He is
a conformist, and he expects others to do the same.
However, he is also, for the most part, made of good
intentions and some friendly generosity.
In his 1950's-style Mormon home, the average Utahn
still seems to hold to the morals and norms of the past. To
him, his mother is meant to stay home and wait on the family
hand and foot while Dad "brings home the bacon" and performs
various other clich‚ tasks. He shuns all who would go to an
R-rated movie or experiment with any drugs. He fails to
comprehend statistics of growing teenage sexuality, and he
feels that America is going to hell.
At the same time, despite this facade of a holier-than-
thou God-fearer, filled with piety and reverence, a Utahn
often goes against these and other basic standards bluntly
and candidly. Utah women surpass the national average for
working motherhood. Many Utahns are no stranger to
swearing, sex, and cigarettes. And most of all, the sin of
judging and pride blots most every Utahn's pure white Sunday
clothes.
Worst of all, a Utahn appears to come off an assembly
line and rejects anyone who doesn't. A non-white, non-
Mormon Democrat, for example, might never fit in. Add to
that gay and an pro-choice and a public execution could soon
be in the making. Different opinions often hide themselves
in the mind of a "different" Utahns rather than being freely
made known.
Despite all these weaknesses and faults, the Utahn
tries his best and apparently means well. His religion is
important to him, and he strives to follow his standards and
get close to God, even though that might lead to attempts at
public moral control. His family is strong and his actions
clean.
So, despite the Utahn's shortcomings as a judgmental,
self-righteous snob, he also has good points. He tries to
be like others, but good peer pressure can come from that.
He needs to change some things, but no one is perfect.
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