American Zion

Visions/dreams may be perceived as answers to questions and calls to action and not just in Mormonism. They are prominent in the Bible and in American Indian spiritual practices. In some tribes, a vision quest is a rite of passage for a young man. Even among nonreligious, dream interpretation is popular in some circles. What do you see as the role for visions/dreams in modern life?

The Bureau of Land Management no longer enforces grazing rules in some areas for fear of violence. Cliven Bundy still owes more than $1-million to the federal government, which doesn’t even try to collect. (He hasn’t paid grazing fees in nearly 30 years.) How might it be possible to reclaim public land without triggering violent confrontations?

Although the Mormon Church has criticized the Bundys, Quammen says they should do more to confront the Bundys over their “insurrections and ecological abuses.”  What do you think about this? Do you see any parallels with Catholics denying communion to politicians who support abortion rights?

Quammen describes the Bundys as part of a culture resistant to transition and delusional in their failure to accept that some practices and vocations need to adapt or fade into history. Do you agree with this assessment? What kind of jobs do you see for cowboys, miners, printers, assembly line workers, etc.?

Quammen is up front about her support for public lands and writes from that perspective. What difference would it have made if she had pretended to be neutral on the subject? Was she fair to the LDS church?

The Mormons went west to escape persecution and violence to the land that Joseph Smith said God promised them. How does knowing that history affect the way you think about Mormons in the west today?

Religious world views play an important part in forming the way many people relate to land, not just Mormons. Think about Jews and Muslims who claim land in the Middle East and Native Americans who want to protect land they think is sacred. Is religious faith a legitimate factor in determining who has rights to land?

A lot of Americans don’t like any restrictions on their actions—from rules about grazing on federal land to mask wearing and vaccine requirements. Are they true believers, fighting tyranny and protecting the constitution or just people smart enough to use this as an excuse to gain power?

Egregious behavior by some federal agents contributes to anti-government sentiment in the West. When-if ever-are people justified in taking the law into their own hands?

There is a huge effort to give federal land to the states, which would allow them to control how they are used. What do you think would evolve if we took that approach?

“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”—quote by Robert A Heinlein found on page 259 of the book. What evidence do you see that he’s right-or wrong?