Flabbergasted

I am flabbergasted by the political craziness going on in our country and the state of Utah right now. Much of it seems to be fueled by a sorrowful lack of knowledge of our history and where our search for a more perfect union has led us. The states’ rights issues being raised in Utah at this time are an incredible example of this. There are proposals before the Utah legislature right now that deny an understanding of why our country exists and why our state came into being. Let us not forget that our country was forged in the furnace of our intentions as a nation as stated in the preamble to the constitution. It is indeed alarming when presidential candidates, state and national legislators and other public officials make blatant errors when serving up history to support their case or even worse, totally ignore what we have learned as a country. I’m sure new citizens taking the citizenship test are much better informed and held to a higher standard of knowledge concerning our country than many of our so called political leaders, pundits and presidential hopefuls. Maybe those leaders should be required to pass a test before they can qualify for office. Their lack of knowledge is dangerous. One of the requirements for a successful democracy is a well-informed public. In this case ignorance is a very dangerous thing. If our politicians won’t learn basic civics, we citizens had better teach it to them.

Back to the states’ rights movement in Utah: the Utah legislature seems fixated on state sovereignty. There are numerous legislative proposals presently before the Utah State Legislature designed to increase this. One of the most significant is the move to force the “return” of all Federal Land in Utah to the State. There is even a proposal to charge the Federal Government for use of the land. In February 2012 HB511 rapidly passed  through the House Natural Resources Committee by an 8 to 1 vote. This bill proposes to let cities and counties exercise eminent domain and take over federal land, despite strong warnings from legislative attorneys that it is almost certainly unconstitutional.  It is important to note that a brief study of Utah history before statehood indicates Utah never originally owned any land. Utah did not officially exist until it gained statehood in 1896; before that, it was a territory under the control of the federal government and before 1846, the tract of land Utah was part of belonged to the country of Mexico.

We just observed the hundred and fiftieth year since the beginning of the Civil War. Have we totally forgotten what that war was all about and that 600,000 American troops gave their lives for that cause, not to mention the thousands wounded and maimed? Guess what the battle was originally over? Yep, it was states’ rights. No, it was not originally about slavery, but about what held the Union together. During his brief run for the presidency, Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, proclaimed that maybe Texas should secede from the Union. Another governor of Texas said about the same thing in the run-up to Fort Sumter at the beginning of the Civil War and actually tried to do it!  Is Utah ignorantly headed in this direction? I hope not. My great grandfather fought in that horrible war for three long years. His company of Pennsylvania infantry lost 700 of 900 original soldiers.

Another question: how long would Utah’s economy run and its security last if it isolated itself from the Union? It is no secret that Utah’s economy is not self-supporting. The state receives more in federal dollars than its citizens pay in federal taxes.  There are hundreds of reasons why secession would be a disaster. In fact, it would take a book to document them all. For you survivalists out there: get real!  “Surviving” is not fun. Remember the Movie Red Dawn?

I really think all of us living in Utah are Americans first and Utahans second, simply because I ask myself which came first, the United States of America or the State of Utah? Which entity had the first Constitution? What did the revered forefathers work so hard to do?  Most of the Utah legislators pushing states’ rights have strong conservative ideology and want to return to the “way we were.” Well, we never were “The Sovereign State of Utah” and the State of Utah never held title to the land in Utah. The fact is, those living in Utah begged to become a state for over forty years. Why? So we could have the benefits and security of Statehood as written in the preamble to the US Constitution:

We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America.

Just a reminder:  this was written long before there was even any idea of a place called Utah. The people living in the Utah Territory at the time of statehood (1896) had to agree to uphold the constitution of the United State and uphold its laws before Utah would be granted statehood. It took over forty years before it was finally granted and there was cheering in the streets when it finally happened.  The funny thing is that the Constitution of Utah, which you would think our legislators would reference first, holds the key to dispelling all this nonsense. It is very easy to reference this document at utah.gov. The pertinent sections are:

Article I, Section 3.

The State of Utah is an inseparable part of the Federal Union and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land.

Article 3, Section 2.

The people inhabiting this State do affirm and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the un-appropriated public lands lying within the boundaries hereof, and to all lands lying within said limits owned or held by Indian or Indian tribes, and that until the title thereto shall have been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition of the United States. (boldface mine).

Many of my neighbors are upset because the Federal Government controls so much of the forest land in central and southern Utah. Some of them even believe this land was forcibly taken.  As we have seen above, the State Constitution should dispel that idea.  I think it is also important for us to know that the citizens of Manti and Ephraim asked for federal control of the land. I quote an article printed June 18, 1953 in the Salt Lake Tribune commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Manti National Forest:

Ten to 20 years prior to the turn of the century, Manti and Ephraim suffered from devastating floods that reared off of the steep Wasatch Plateau.

Finally, about 1900, L.R. Anderson, a prominent resident of Manti, ran for mayor on a “no more floods” platform. He was elected and under his leadership the people…petitioned President Theodore Roosevelt to create a national forest reserve… The President did so by executive order dated May 29, 1903.

Livestock grazing and other use in Manti Canyon was placed under proper management 50 years ago and as the vegetation was restored … no more serious floods have occurred.

….. We doubt that anybody living on the verdant strip of green that depends on the towering Wasatch for its water properly channeled and controlled by nature’s process would want to turn back the clock.

(For more information on the facts concerning this topic please refer to Chapter Nine, The Other 49ers, A Topical History of Sanpete County Utah 1849 to 1983. Sanpete County Commission 1982).

It seems some folks would like to do just that, turn back the clock.  I doubt if they really understood why and how we got where we are as a nation and state. If they did, maybe good sense would prevail.

All of us should more carefully consider what we are told and tend to believe if we are to avoid repeating the disastrous events of our American History and that of the larger world. We are still, and will always be, defining our country. Hopefully, we will do it with an eye to what is best for the entire country. We will not survive under the tyranny of narrow-mindedness, bigotry, ignorance, hidden agendas and self-aggrandizement. Forging a great nation is not easy. Some great thinker said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest.”  May we be diligent, patient and well informed as we continue to refine and grow ourselves and our country for our children and fellow citizens!  We need to be diligent in our search for the truth about our country and our national and state purpose. Every bit of knowledge we can acquire in any area will help lead us closer to the truth, to what is right. Being closer to the truth can never be as harmful as ignorance.

(To read more about the difficult quest for Utah Statehood read Chapter Eight ; Utah The Right Place, The Official Centennial History by Thomas G. Alexander.)