In my last blogpost I commented on how negative the media can be in its portrayal of religions such as this one but The Sister Wives sheds a different light. It allows for viewers to see into the lives of people in these religions, gives faces to the names, and shows some of the positive aspects of their religion. Ultimately, the show portrays them as people just like us-which is exactly what they are. While many of us argued that Warren Jeffs was hurting and taking advantage of these kids, I don’t think that can be said about the women who chose to live in Polygamy. Since they are clearly okay with it, its not hurting anyone, and the First Amendment says that government can’t interfere with religion, these families should be left alone to live their lives however they see fit, regardless of societal norms.
At the same time, I’m sure there are many people who are uncomfortable with the idea of The Sister Wives TV Show. Among these people could be other polygamist families who find it offensive that these people are parading their family around for a show and allowing for their privacy to be invaded. Others who are simply uncomfortable with the idea of polygamy may only choose to focus solely on the negative and use whatever conflicts are expressed in the show against them. Lastly, and I know this one to be true from my own experiences, some people might be annoyed that this show is on TV because their kids get exposed to it and start to ask questions that they don’t necessarily want to/know how to answer.
That kind of sheltering, in ways very similar to the isolation of some religious groups, only allows for ignorance. Only informed people have the ability to form opinions therefore I think its crucial that people be informed about these religions. While I understand that reality TV show isn’t the best source, at least we know that there is somewhat of a balance in the media’s portrayal of different religions. I think people forget that these polygamist families are just regular families with different beliefs. As long as they aren’t forcing their beliefs on anybody ,which they are not (even though we tend to), then I say we Live and Let Live.
Limitless 