One of my favorite guilty pleasures of late is the HBO show Big Love. I find it fascinating and have become hooked. On the same note, I was watching Oprah the other day (yes, I am a SAHM and I watch Oprah. Shut up.) and they had a Lisa Ling special where she went inside the Yearning for Zion Compound in El Dorado, Texas. They spoke with the men, the younger women and the girls. While I found the girls to be semi-brainwashed, I have to admit that I didn't find the people on the ranch to be all that crazy and/or evil. Then, the FLDS spokesman, Willie Jessop, came on and he was actually charming and cordial to Oprah. This morning I was cleaning up the kitchen and thinking about the show, and had a thought - are we softening up as a culture on plural marriage?
Growing up in a very Protestant household, I was always taught that Mormonism was a cult, and have always been very wary of the religion. I can't say I have any Mormon friends - not that I would dismiss someone simply on that basis - I just have never had the opportunity.
So with the whole Warren Jeffs drama and the YFZ Ranch raid, I have been very interested, wanting to know more - wanting to know what really goes on and why people choose to live like that. Though, granted, most don't feel it is a choice - it's what is deemed from above.
I absolutely do not condone young women or girls being forced into marriage. I'm positive that young girls have been abused, molested and raped at the hands of the much older husbands they are given to by their parents. So let me be very clear here - I am talking about plural marriage where all parties consent and all are of age.
During the Oprah interview, Willie Jessop raised a very thought provoking point - why does our society frown on plural marriage, yet seem to turn a blind eye to infidelity and men having children with many different women?
For me, neither infidelity or plural marriage is acceptable. But it is an interesting point. And as I watch Big Love and actually feel sympathy and compassion for the sister wives and the plights of their families, I wonder if I am the only one who has had to step back and tell myself - hey - polygamy - not cool.