In Leonora Prince’s letter to the editor in the Nov. 15 edition of WHT, she celebrates how America is “turning back to God” while “getting back to moral principles,” and is apparently giving credit for this new direction to Donald
In Leonora Prince’s letter to the editor in the Nov. 15 edition of WHT, she celebrates how America is “turning back to God” while “getting back to moral principles,” and is apparently giving credit for this new direction to Donald Trump’s win in the presidential election. At first I just assumed she was writing a satirical letter, but upon reading it a second time I realized she was being serious, which I must admit was quite unsettling. Donald Trump leading us back to God and moral principles? Really? Mrs. Prince, if I may make a few points regarding your letter.
First, there is a fairly important little clause in the First Amendment of the United Sates Constitution that states there shall be a separation of church and state in our country. I realize this must be a complete bummer for you, but the purpose of this is so that no American governmental agency can shove a particular religion down the throats of its citizens, and every American enjoys the same liberties, respect, and basic freedoms regardless of religious affiliation or perhaps no affiliation at all.
This leads me to my next question. Is there a place in your America, Mrs. Prince, for the 24 percent of Americans who have no religious affiliation whatsoever? Are they to be deported, too? Or perhaps voluntarily move to a neighboring country such as Canada? If one happens to be an atheist, do they deserve the same rights and liberties as Christians living in our country?
Second, you state you are so grateful that the Evangelicals who wanted America back stood up for their principles. Back from whom I must ask? If we are being completely honest, “Take America Back” as a campaign slogan is a euphemism for “let’s marginalize minorities in our country because they must be the source of all our problems.” Please take comfort, Mrs. Prince, in knowing that our country has been dominated by white heterosexual Christian males since its inception, and continues to be so to this day. It was never taken away in the first place, I can assure you.
Thirdly, and by far the most perplexing part of your letter, is the notion that President-elect Trump will be leading our country to a new religious and moral high ground. Mrs. Prince, were you following the election? This is a man who has been married three times, openly mocked a handicapped person and countless others based upon their physical appearance, hired a known white supremacist as his chief advisor, bragged about sexually assaulting women, suggested banning a group of over a billion people from entering the US based upon their religion, referred to another large ethnic group as rapists and drug dealers, and questioned the legitimacy of our sitting president for five years apparently because he is black and therefore must not be an American citizen. This is the man who is going to take our country back to “Godly and American principles” as you suggest?
I am not sure what moral principles and religion you refer to in your letter, but if Mr. Trump is supposed to be the person who leads us to the Promised Land, I don’t want any part of that. I am going to stick with my own religion that states I will judge men and women solely on their character, integrity, empathy, and heart, and not whether they are Christian, atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, black, white, brown, handicapped, straight, gay, female, or male. Perhaps I am missing something but it seems all humans deserve to be treated with a certain level of dignity unless their actions dictate otherwise. It is quite obvious that Mr. Trump does not agree with me in this regard.
Lastly, Mrs. Prince, you feel that those who speak up because they do not agree with your beliefs are sniveling and this is an unattractive trait. This is not the first time I have heard this. It is a common reaction from conservatives that whenever someone has the audacity to disagree with them, the shouting and name calling ensues shortly thereafter. I am eternally hopeful, but if entire segments of the American population are treated with anything less than respect and fairness in the coming years, solely because of their skin color, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation, I can guarantee you the “sniveling” people who do not fit in to your vision of our country will continue to speak out quite loudly.
Indeed, as Elie Wiesel once said, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Eric Garrett is a resident of Kailua-Kona
