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Am I a Plaster Saint?

When it comes to extremist Mormon sects, I tend to get soft on property rights.  I believe that there are circumstances in which our government should be able to step and remove children (or "wives" in the parlance of fundamentalist Mormonism), and I completely support such invasions so long as they are based on adequate evidence.

But when it comes to the Amish, who don't want to follow building codes, my property rights values flare, and out comes the dander in my pre-14th Amendment primal self. Why should the government be able to tell you how to design your private home? What does the government care if you don't use grade certified lumber, stainless steel fasteners, toilets, or electricity?

That makes me a hypocrite. I can't think of a single meaningful distinction between the two issues and yet I am willing to draw the line. Take, for example, this snippet from my inner monologue (and, no the voices do not have names):

• The relationship between building codes and social harm is tenuous when compared to statuary rape . . . but so what? They're still public safety laws.
  
• Sexual assault and gender subordination are pressing social concerns . . . and indoor plumbing isn't? Besides, you can't seriously say a fifteen year old Amish girl is free or liberated.
  
• Mormon extremism is a historical problem worthy of rigorous government intervention . . . and so is building and housing safety.
  
• The Amish are expressing their religious beliefs, which makes them worthy of a special kind of deference . . . okay, but then what's wrong with polygamy? Besides, try telling that to the non-Amish neighbor who has to spend thousands of dollars on galvanized nails and percolation tests.
  
• The difference is that the Amish are harmless . . . now you're just being a bigot.
  

The bottom line is, I think I'm two-faced and dishonest on this one. Is it bad that I feel okay with that?

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on December 13, 2008 (boomark / email).