Home Delivery
  Digital Edition
  Mobile News
  RSS Feeds
  Local Forums

  Traffic Updates

Home » News » Story View

ong>AG tells Boys State: You can shine

OGDEN -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff brandished his cutlass Wednesday for a Boys State crowd at Weber State University.

He used the authentic sword he said he bought online at Dresslikeapirate.com to demonstrate the definition of justice.

"What does the sword represent?" he asked the group of several hundred high school youth assembled in the Shepherd Union Building for the annual convention sponsored by the American Legion.

"When you break the law, you pay the price," he explained to open his address.

The Lady Justice statue, symbolizing the American judicial system, is characterized as blindfolded, with a sword in one hand and holding a set of scales in the other hand.

That, he said, depicts the balance of justice where all have equal protection under the law.

Shurtleff recommended, during his light-hearted civics lesson, the musical "Camelot" as educational about the noble aspirations of the court system.

He recommended "renting this old movie" and viewing it with a prospective heartthrob."She will be your girlfriend after this movie.

"That's a promise from the attorney general ... It's a chick flick but there's sword-fighting and jousting, too."

The movie tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, with their motto, as quoted by Shurtleff, "Might for right, right for right, and justice for all."

But the King's dream of a just world collapses along with his kingdom when he refuses to punish his best friend, Lancelot, for committing adultery with Queen Guinevere.

The movie version of the Arthurian legend ends in war, with the despondent King Arthur cheered at meeting a teenage boy who promises to keep his story alive.

Arthur knighted him, Shurtleff said, explaining that while the boy was "only one drop in an endless ocean, some of those drops do sparkle."

Shurtleff concluded by admonishing his teenage crowd, "You can be one of those drops. You can shine."

Shurtleff said he has attended Boys State each of his seven years as attorney general and usually attends Girls State as well.

But he won't be able to get to Girls State this year, he apologized, "so I can't pass any messages for you."

Add Your Comment

Name:
Comment:
Security Code:	Type the characters to the left in the box exactly as they appear.
	Before posting you must check the box to agree to our posting guidelines.

Sign up for local savings, special offers, deals and coupons!

E-mail Address:

View All »• Local Jobs