Welcome to Behind the Lines, a weekly conversation with Salt Lake Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley and BYU economist Val Lambson:
Lambson: So the Utah Legislature is in session again. Why not a state constitutional amendment requiring that, each year, the Legislature choose a new state rock, state bird, state anthem, state flower, and any other state symbol that we can think of? They could be chosen in such a way as to send whatever message the majority wants to send, without actually having any effect. The bonus is that it would tie up the Legislature's time so that they couldn't do any real damage. I bet you could come up with a lot of clever examples.
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>> > Bagley: You mean like designating Orrin Hatch the state dinosaur?
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>> > Lambson: Exactly, although it would tie up legislative time more effectively if there were a credible alternative so as to generate debate.
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>> > Bagley: There are plenty of other time-wasting, meaningless tasks they set themselves. Saving us from happy hour comes to mind. Ninety-one percent of Utah legislators are LDS and their only first-hand experience with bars is the cantina scene from "Star Wars." I'm not surprised when they legislate to protect the good citizens of Utah from the scum and villainy that frequent such establishments.
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>> Lambson: This is an example of what I am talking about. Instead of passing more laws, the Legislature could debate whether a wine grape or a table grape should be the state grape. The case for requiring legislatures to choose official symbols every session is even more compelling at the national level.
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> Bagley: The Glass Grape is the official state grape. Everyone knows that.
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> I am old enough to remember when the Legislature wasn't so exciting. It was comprised mostly of serious people who hunkered down to do the boring but important job of governing. Republicans and Democrats alike recognized that public education was "job one." For instance, they invested in a world-class university system that encourages research, incubates businesses and produces the educated population that businesses want. If Utah is currently doing well, it is thanks to that carefully laid foundation. That foundation is now being chipped away.
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> Lambson: Wow, you ARE old.
Bagley: And cranky.
Last week's BTL Top Comment from utahwild is appropriate:
As we age we all wish for the ways things were.
