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Pinnacle Presbyterian Church

Echoes (of the Word)

In my little corner of the world, Litchfield Park, Arizona, I receive a free community newspaper twice a week. The paper reports on events in Goodyear, Avondale, Tolleson, Litchfield Park and surrounding environs. 

The most entertaining part of The West Valley View is the “Letters to the Editor” section. The letters are published exactly as submitted, typos, spelling and grammar included. It makes me think some of these folks never finished sixth grade.

In every edition there is a letter which I judge as ignorant or hateful. I ask myself, “On what planet did these Neaderthals come from?”  

Here’s a recent example:

Editor: 

“Throughout my corporate career, I was subjected to countless seminars on Affirmative Action, Diversity, Inclusion, and Tolerance. After awhile I began to see through the smokescreen. These seminars were never about treating everyone equally but rather giving special privileges to groups who are typically non white or non Asian.

“I learned that there is a hierarchy of victim hood or entitlement promoted by a cabal of government progressives and supported by big business, the entertainment industry, and many universities. 

“The hierarchy is as follows in today’s culture:

“Homosexuality trumps Heterosexuality (transgenderism will soon bypass homosexuality) 

“Black skin color trumps white skin color

“Female gender trumps male gender

“Islam trumps Judaism and Christianity. 

“This obsession with abnormal sexuality, skin color, gender, and alternate religions may also be referred to as Identity Politics where what really matters, namely intellectual or attribute diversity, is sadly mostly inconsequential.

“To many modern progressives, the ideal presidential candidate would be a black Lesbian sympathetic to Islam. The most undesirable presidential candidate would be a white straight Christian or Jewish male.

“The Diversity Cult has given our country the inept racist now occupying the White House. Like so many agendas of modern day Obama-like liberals, Identity Politics is destroying our country.

“Affirmative Action is legalized discrimination.

“Diversity without unity is chaos.

“Inclusion without discernment is suicidal.

“Tolerance without convictions is cowardly.”

Name Not Disclosed
Goodyear, Arizona

It’s a short and inexorable step from this kind of poisonous rhetoric to Dylan Roof to the terrorist shootings in Tunisia.

What I have learned in life from my faith:

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.” –St Francis of Assissi.

“There are three important lessons in life–be kind, be kind, be kind” –William James

“Love suffereth long.” –I Corinthians 13. 

“You can disagree without being disagreeable.” 

P.S. I know I ought to pray for the letter writer, just not right now!!!