Last week I was in Cedar City for my annual visit to the Utah Shakespearean Festival, which has brought a lot of pleasure to my family for the past 24 years, thanks to the nearly 50-year-old impossible dream of a returned missionary, Fred Adams. His success is, today, an interesting counterpoint to other impossible dreams. <\/p>\n
There is something very human in seeking an impossible dream, especially when that dream includes a noble goal, even if\u00a0 the goal isn’t reached. In Mormon culture we have our own version of this impossible dream. To be truly Mormon, our dreams must originate in inspiration or revelation, something that comes from beyond ourselves. That is the pattern in our myths. Even the Joseph Smith story might be considered a kind of impossible dream\u2014an inspired vision from God that succeeded beyond any reasonable expectation.<\/p>\n
For much of the past four months I’ve been following the impossible dream of another Mormon and its difficult denoument. While I’m not sure that the dream of John Yettaw was inspired, in a Quixote-like sense it was very noble, and given our inability to know what would have happened, it might have been successful. Without that knowledge, Yettaw is now known as a fool and imbicile among supporters of democracy in Burma, and among observers worldwide.<\/p>\n
How and when Yettaw got his inspiration isn’t known. He first traveled to Burma in November of last year, and was able to visit the lake-side home of Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, but left a copy of the Book of Mormon when he wasn’t able to speak to her. Apparently encouraged by the fact that he wasn’t caught, or further inspired, the 53-year-old Yettaw returned in May, convinced that Suu Kyi would be assassinated and needed to be warned. He swam, with the aid of home-made flotation devices, 2 kilometers across the lake to Daw Suu Kyi’s home despite his diabetes and occasional seizures (from a head injury he suffered while serving in the U.S. military in Germany during the Vietnam War). This time he met and warned Suu Kyi, who tried to get him to leave. Yettaw was then caught and arrested as he tried to return across the lake.<\/p>\n
Until the visit of Virginia Senator Webb yesterday, Yettaw was in Burma’s infamous Insein Prison, at first awaiting trial, then begining what was to be a seven year sentence for violating Suu Kyi’s house arrest, violating immigration laws, and swimming in a restricted area. According to Burmese authorities, he fasted for 62 days of the nearly 4 months he was incarcerated (the authorities say he claimed the fast was for religious reasons), and spent several days in the hospital near the end of his stay after going into convulsions. His efforts created an international incident, with human rights groups decrying his effort, the Burmese government suggesting that he was part of a plot to embarrass them and democracy supporters there claiming that he was a government lackey creating an excuse for the government to keep Suu Kyi out of upcoming Burmese elections.<\/p>\n
Despite all this, the most plausible reason for his actions is, in my view, the claim that he was trying to help. That he had the impression that Suu Kyi would be assassinated. As an outsider, one with an admittedly limited understanding of Burma, it seems plausible. The Burmese junta has been in power since 1962, and has held Suu Kyi in prison or under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years, since she won a 1990 election to the presidency of Burma and was not allowed to taken office. An assassination would remove a perpetual thorn from the junta’s side. At their recent trial, Suu Kyi was given an additional 18 months of house arrest, which keeps her from participating in next year’s election, but has kept Burma, Suu Kyi, the junta, and even Yettaw under international scrutiny for several months. Did all this save her life? I have no idea, and I don’t believe anyone but the Lord knows.<\/p>\n