Friends in Utah and in Surrounding States — Seeing Ralph Nader speak (as a Congressional Intern) was a highlight of my life. He remains a hero of mine to this day. Our good friend Ashley Sanders is hosting a house party tonight for Mr. Nader (for those who can still make it), and if ya’ll get the chance, you definitely should consider going to hear him speak when he comes to Utah on July 31st. Information below and attached for both events. Go Nader! Go Ash!!!! And please spread the word!!!
Tag Archive for 'Utah'
I was talking with a French colleague at dinner about the differences between European politics and American politics, and he made a statement that left an impression. European politics are colored by their colonialist histories and how to balance a preservation of their culture while dealing with the other cultures they have essentially subordinated over time. For example, he mentioned the Muslims in France who demanded equal consideration of their separate cultural preferences in the very strict and isolationist French culture. The French people are very concerned with preserving their culture, values, and language (even governing the number of foreign words allowed to be added per year). I believe there is a Mormon parallel to be understood. Continue reading…
In my last post, I noted that something peculiar is going on when it comes to Utah’s depression numbers. Utah has the highest percentage of population reporting depression, and oddly, Utah’s depression numbers can’t seem to be explained by several correlations that tend to explain depression numbers in other states. That suggests to me that Utah’s higher depression numbers are caused by something peculiar to Utah. In this post, I take a look at three peculiar theories about what’s behind Utah’s depression numbers, which I like to call the “Shrunken Gene Pool Theory,” the “Lack of Alcoholic Self-Medication Theory,” and “Too Many Toddlers Syndrome.”
A recent news article cites a study that portrays Utah as the most depressed state in the U.S. The article suggests Mormon culture is at least partly to blame for Utahns’ depression, and features photos of a pill bottle and a depressed-looking woman superimposed over the Salt Lake temple.
