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Every time I think things can’t get any worse, I find my optimistic bubble popped. A recent quotation that Sen. Josh Hawley attributed to Patrick Henry (a very questionable attribution), has left me both speechless and depressed. The supposed quote reads “this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
I have not seen in the gospels, Christ behaving as we have. He would not have exterminated indigenous peoples, dishonored treaties, destroyed and poisoned the air, water and land, imported and enslaved people and made lying a permissible action.
What we are becoming, more and more, is a nation of liars and we are accepting this. A U.S. District Court judge in Louisiana recently issued an injunction that has the effect of saying the First Amendment prevents the government from trying to stop the spread of misinformation. (i.e. lies).
I affirm: that no one has any right to mislead me by words or actions about information I have the right to know about. To do so is a violation of my right to be informed in matters that affect me, the world around me and any decisions I may make.
We must all work to be a part of the solution, not the problem. If you want to truly honor Christ, don’t “bear false witness” and don’t support those who do.
Joyce A. Polyniak
Topsham
