Pro-voucher propagandists and "Jeff Arguments"

As freshmen at BYU, Lisa and I together took arguably one of the best classes ever offered on campus. The Honors Colloquium class was taught by three professors - two from Humanities and one from the Physics department. These three fine professors couldn't be more different from each other politically, and because of their mutual respect they challenged us (and each other) to examine our philosophies and values.

It was refreshing!

For all its great moments, though, the class had an unfortunate annoyance in the form of a recently returned missionary named Jeff. Jeff was a very bright guy, but whenever Jeff wanted to make a point, he'd quote a scripture. Early on it seemed fine; after all, we did start off every class with a prayer. We were all good kids and who of us would want to challenge an RM glowing with the fire of his convictions?

But after about the third day of class, something changed. Jeff began to get on our nerves. Fascinating debates and discussions would be cut-off midstream as Jeff would interject with a favorite Book of Mormon quote. Soon enough, whenever Jeff raised his hand, you could see fidgeting and hear the occasional faint groan from somehwere in the class. Over time, fellow students in the class began to ignore Jeff.

But Jeff persisted.

I believe it was finally Jeff's girlfriend who told him that people couldn't stand him anymore.

So, whenever Lisa or I hear someone quoting scripture or the prophets to prevail in a discussion (political or otherwise), we can quickly see it for what it is - a "JEFF ARGUMENT".

Technically, a Jeff Argument is a variant of the "Argumentum ad Verecundiam" logical fallacy. The Utah twist on the Appeal to Authority argument is that, in most cases, the authority used is simply being exploited to match the private interpretation of the presenter.

It seems that pro-voucher propagandists (several I imagine are fellow Cougars) don't mind Jeff Arguments. They believe that Utah citizens like Jeff Arguments. In fact, they're so confident that enough Utah voters are swayed by Jeff Arguments that they're spending hundreds of thousands of dollars placing Jeff Arguments into the mainstream media. These aren't little ra-rah's as I mentioned in my Apostle Paul sarcasm piece. This is an all-out, strategic Jeff Argument extravaganza.

Perhaps you haven't heard the latest radio spot, in which a calm, pleasant voice not unlike the CD's we all have quotes this passage (without explicit reference for added effect):

"And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches."

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 6:12

The case being made, I assume, is that private school entitlements, as laid out in House Bill 148, will tear down the walls of social inequality and give all students, regardless of financial means, a chance to "great learning." Perhaps this concept and the scripture reference quoted is what Leah Barker, spokesperson for PCE, was referring to when she said:

"I think that it is in line with the value system that Utah families have — when families really understand what the voucher program is about, then they are going to vote 'yes' because it is right in line with their value and belief system."

Leah Barker, PCE Spokesperson (emphasis added) as cited in the Deseret News.

Fascinating stuff. I learned a lot at BYU but here's a lesson I guess I didn't learn: When you're in Utah and you're 21 points down in the polls there's nothing that can lift your spirits (and your numbers) faster than a JEFF ARGUMENT.