July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Burkett takes issue with labels (11/22/04)
Editor's Mailbag
By To the editor:-
This letter is in response to the letter to the editor written by Gary Miller and printed by The Commercial Review in the Nov. 18, 2004 issue. I was elected by the citizens of Jay County in 2000 to serve as their prosecuting attorney and I am a Democrat. I have not spoken out publicly on these issues in the past, but I am sick and tired of hearing that only the people who belong to one political party in this country are “moral.”
Is God a Republican or a Democrat? Anybody who thinks they can answer that question with certainty in favor of either party had better re-examine their theology. Do Democrats believe in moral values? Yes. Do Republicans believe in moral values? I believe so. What a nice phrase “moral values” is, but what does it mean? I believe in the sanctity of human life, but is the cannibal immoral in his own culture when he kills his enemy and eats his flesh? An act that is moral to the cannibal is repugnant to those of us in our culture, isn’t it?
Are you aware that the so-called “moral” red states have a higher incidence of unmarried teenage pregnancies as a percentage of their total populations, as compared to the same populations in the blue states? Does that make the people of the red states more immoral than the people of the blue states? No, it does not. Many factors cause this problem, including “moral values.”
I don’t think that the vast majority of the people in either of our great political parties are immoral, and I also believe that neither political party has exclusive possession of the moral high ground. I believe in feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and sheltering the homeless, but because I believe that government can assist in these ventures am I immoral? I believe in capitalism, Social Security, workman’s compensation for those injured on the job, unemployment compensation, medical care for the aged (who made this country great), basic civil rights for every citizen of our nation (not just for the rich and powerful or those in the “majority”), a decent living wage for all workers and our citizens being taxed based upon their ability to pay, but because I am a Democrat does that mean I am immoral? I think not. If I were a Republican and may have been against some of these programs or ideas at one time, would that make me immoral? No it would not. People favor some issues and are against others for many reasons, including morality.
This country of ours is comprised of more than 300 million people, many of whom subscribe to widely divergent faiths and beliefs, if any.
We should be very careful about trying to turn this country of ours into a “Christian” nation. First of all, we can’t even agree on one Christian church and theology, so what Christianity will we adopt for our nation? Secondly, who is to say that Christians will always be in the majority in the United States of America? Egypt, Syria, Bosnia, Sudan and Turkey were once overwhelmingly Christian, but are they now?
If we establish precedent and allow our laws to favor any religion or the zealots who drive them, we run the risk that in a school district with a majority Muslim population our children in public schools will be taught that “there is only one God and his name is Allah, and His prophet is Mohammed.” I don’t want this for my grandchildren or their grandchildren, and I don’t think that most other Americans do either. That is why the framers of the U.S. Constitution felt that the government of these United States should be a secular government, not a theocracy. Does that make them immoral? No it does not. It means they were far-sighted enough to know that this country would be stronger if it promoted tolerance of various religions and ideas and not intolerance.
To close this letter I want Mr. Miller to know that I believe in personal responsibility for one’s own conduct and I believe the citizens of this country should strive to make this country and world a better place than we found it, not merely because God may want it that way, but because it is the right thing to do. I believe in law-abiding Americans being allowed to own firearms. I also believe Americans should be free to practice their Christian faith in their church, homes and even in public, because I believe our Lord wants us to proselytize our faith.
However, our government should not be put in the position of favoring my God over my neighbor’s God. I also do not believe that this constant bickering about which political party is “moral” is contributing to the betterment of our country; it is dividing us at a time when we should be uniting for the common good.
By the way, I am also a gun-toting, Bible-toting Christian. Does that make me a Republican? No, I am a Democrat, and proud of it.
Bradley K. Burkett
Portland[[In-content Ad]]
Is God a Republican or a Democrat? Anybody who thinks they can answer that question with certainty in favor of either party had better re-examine their theology. Do Democrats believe in moral values? Yes. Do Republicans believe in moral values? I believe so. What a nice phrase “moral values” is, but what does it mean? I believe in the sanctity of human life, but is the cannibal immoral in his own culture when he kills his enemy and eats his flesh? An act that is moral to the cannibal is repugnant to those of us in our culture, isn’t it?
Are you aware that the so-called “moral” red states have a higher incidence of unmarried teenage pregnancies as a percentage of their total populations, as compared to the same populations in the blue states? Does that make the people of the red states more immoral than the people of the blue states? No, it does not. Many factors cause this problem, including “moral values.”
I don’t think that the vast majority of the people in either of our great political parties are immoral, and I also believe that neither political party has exclusive possession of the moral high ground. I believe in feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and sheltering the homeless, but because I believe that government can assist in these ventures am I immoral? I believe in capitalism, Social Security, workman’s compensation for those injured on the job, unemployment compensation, medical care for the aged (who made this country great), basic civil rights for every citizen of our nation (not just for the rich and powerful or those in the “majority”), a decent living wage for all workers and our citizens being taxed based upon their ability to pay, but because I am a Democrat does that mean I am immoral? I think not. If I were a Republican and may have been against some of these programs or ideas at one time, would that make me immoral? No it would not. People favor some issues and are against others for many reasons, including morality.
This country of ours is comprised of more than 300 million people, many of whom subscribe to widely divergent faiths and beliefs, if any.
We should be very careful about trying to turn this country of ours into a “Christian” nation. First of all, we can’t even agree on one Christian church and theology, so what Christianity will we adopt for our nation? Secondly, who is to say that Christians will always be in the majority in the United States of America? Egypt, Syria, Bosnia, Sudan and Turkey were once overwhelmingly Christian, but are they now?
If we establish precedent and allow our laws to favor any religion or the zealots who drive them, we run the risk that in a school district with a majority Muslim population our children in public schools will be taught that “there is only one God and his name is Allah, and His prophet is Mohammed.” I don’t want this for my grandchildren or their grandchildren, and I don’t think that most other Americans do either. That is why the framers of the U.S. Constitution felt that the government of these United States should be a secular government, not a theocracy. Does that make them immoral? No it does not. It means they were far-sighted enough to know that this country would be stronger if it promoted tolerance of various religions and ideas and not intolerance.
To close this letter I want Mr. Miller to know that I believe in personal responsibility for one’s own conduct and I believe the citizens of this country should strive to make this country and world a better place than we found it, not merely because God may want it that way, but because it is the right thing to do. I believe in law-abiding Americans being allowed to own firearms. I also believe Americans should be free to practice their Christian faith in their church, homes and even in public, because I believe our Lord wants us to proselytize our faith.
However, our government should not be put in the position of favoring my God over my neighbor’s God. I also do not believe that this constant bickering about which political party is “moral” is contributing to the betterment of our country; it is dividing us at a time when we should be uniting for the common good.
By the way, I am also a gun-toting, Bible-toting Christian. Does that make me a Republican? No, I am a Democrat, and proud of it.
Bradley K. Burkett
Portland[[In-content Ad]]
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