“Fear and anger are two emotions that kill the soul." I say this to the cowardly male (he only signed his first name to the letter and had no return address on the envelope) who sent me a vicious, judgmental note in the mail about my recent protesting activities.
I will not give him the satisfaction of putting his whole letter verbatim here … but let me say that he has no idea who I am, yet he felt he needed to send me something that, among other things, said, “Well, I bet your (sic) no Christian either” and “Go to church."
I do go to church, and the church I go to preaches God’s love for ALL people, forgiveness (I’m trying to practice this) for those who have lost their way or offend others, and a fundamental respect for those who lead our country — whether we agree with policies or not. It saddens me deeply to see evidence that my right to have my own opinion is viewed to some as so threatening.
My friends and I purposefully stood a good distance away from the rally. I never said anything or gestured in any way offensive, yet I was exposed to several rude gestures and some people swearing at us. We have never tried, nor will we ever try, to take away anybody's right to free speech. Indeed, that is the main reason we were protesting: We, too, have the right to our own opinions. Free speech is not a right to speech filled with hate or slander to another American, but rather a way to express ourselves in an open and honest forum without fear or intimidation.
Patriotism is not defined in only one way, and those who feel threatened by a different opinion are only showing their insecurities.
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“Fear and anger are two emotions that kill the soul." I say this to the cowardly male (he only signed his first name to the letter and had no return address on the envelope) who sent me a vicious, judgmental note in the mail about my recent protesting activities.
I will not give him the satisfaction of putting his whole letter verbatim here … but let me say that he has no idea who I am, yet he felt he needed to send me something that, among other things, said, “Well, I bet your (sic) no Christian either” and “Go to church."
I do go to church, and the church I go to preaches God’s love for ALL people, forgiveness (I’m trying to practice this) for those who have lost their way or offend others, and a fundamental respect for those who lead our country — whether we agree with policies or not. It saddens me deeply to see evidence that my right to have my own opinion is viewed to some as so threatening.
My friends and I purposefully stood a good distance away from the rally. I never said anything or gestured in any way offensive, yet I was exposed to several rude gestures and some people swearing at us. We have never tried, nor will we ever try, to take away anybody's right to free speech. Indeed, that is the main reason we were protesting: We, too, have the right to our own opinions. Free speech is not a right to speech filled with hate or slander to another American, but rather a way to express ourselves in an open and honest forum without fear or intimidation.
Patriotism is not defined in only one way, and those who feel threatened by a different opinion are only showing their insecurities.
