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Internal, External Evil Forces Must Be Fought By All of Us, Together

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

Kudos to Garrett Godwin for a very sincere and unbiased piece (Christian Vote - Now!). I'm glad he found the courage to say: "The foundation of God is based on love, truth, justice, forgiveness, salvation, servitude, self-sacrifice, faith, mercy, compassion, goodness, and so forth. However, the United States of America is dying spiritually and morally, for it accepts adultery, abortion, political and business corruption, homosexuality, and more as values and ways of life."

I wish he had gone further and challenged the lowly gimmicks, the holier-than-thou and self-conceited 'Godly' people on one side of the aisle are using to bring the feigned salvation to the country. I also think that he erred in his call because he seems to have lost the perspective of the multireligious, multiethnic and multiracial mosaic that the United States of America is and always has been. The characteristics and attributes he cites above are ingrained in all the three Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - alike.

In the wake of the resurgence of neo-Nazism on one hand and the militant extremism on the other, the last thing we need is a code 'Christian' threat. Intolerance is no substitute to coexistence. This great country of ours is not called the melting pot on this planet for nothing. But it seems that lately the pot is simmering with the broth of intolerance, xenophobia and bigotry, beginning to froth at its rim and is showing the signs of a boiling spill. This should worry us, lest it burns and scars everyone.

This is not to suggest that all whites are color-blind or carry a head full of superiority-conscious mush. But then all it takes is an isolated incident and a solitary cell for an idea to germinate and take root in. Look at the history. That's precisely how the seemingly innocent concept of National Socialism morphed into diabolic Nazism (Nationalsozialismus) in Germany that wreaked havoc for everyone who was a non-Aryan. In this country, KKK was born under the banner of 'white supremacy' - almost imperceptibly. The story is not very different for Taliban or Al-Qaeda either. Sadly, over the millennia, we haven't overcome the urge to bully one another with race or religion as a perfect intoxicant.

The war he talks about on the internal as well as external evil forces MUST be fought by all of us together, not by Christians alone.

Best regards,

Abdul-Majeed Azad, Ph.D.
Ohio