J U LY 5, 2020
Opinion
S U N D AY S I G N A L · 2 3
Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Signal.
READERLETTERS
What About Law Enforcement? What a great/pleasant headline! “Law enforcement support.” But why the lower case? It should have been UPPER case and ENLARGED letters! It is about time law enforcement received a positive note of recognition. I think law-abiding citizens of this community, for the most part, stay out of the nonsense that has been going on, and I think it’s understandable, but it has gone too far. What happened to George Floyd was sick, but there are still two sides to every story. Do I believe that Black lives matter? Yes, I most certainly do! But so does our police force matter, and they are not receiving the support they should, either. And their assignments are rarely pleasant or fun. No more for them than the public they serve. But they are there, and I’m grateful for them. And while we’re at it, there is the latest whining about (Councilman) Bob Kellar. His critics had to go back 10 years to find something they could criticize. TEN YEARS! It’s pathetic! He has been one of the best representatives this valley has ever had. He has been responsible and responsive when needed, and also one of the most pleasant and courteous of our local leadership. I am not personally acquainted with Kellar. But I have been to meetings when he was responding to one thing or another. I have admired the calm and pleasant way he conducts himself, and the incidences he has been involved with. I am sorry to have him retire, but I think he truly deserves it. Best of wishes to you, Bob. VaNile Risser Canyon Country
Garcia Demonstrates Leadership Our Rep. Mike Garcia campaigned on the slogan, “Constitution, Capitalism, Competition and Charity.” Thank you, Rep. Garcia, for demonstrating your beliefs and supporting your words with actions. In this case it is your commitment to donating 10% of your salary each month to a charity or nonprofit organization in the 25th District that you represent. You are a leader and you show us that voters made the right choice. Frank Arenson Valencia Submit a Letter to the Editor
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E T H I C A L LY S P E A K I N G
Dealing with Our Differences By David Hegg
U
nless you’ve been sleeping under a rock somewhere, you’re acutely aware we are becoming an increasingly touchy society. It seems the new national sport is overreaction to issues that, while not unworthy of discussion, are certainly not worthy of vitriolic outbursts and mean-spirited acts of violence. We’ve become a society whose surface is so sunburned any little touch sets us off. And unless we can rediscover a bedrock principle necessary to the health of any pluralistic society, we will certainly devolve further and further into a polarized, hatefilled nation. We need to rediscover tolerance, as properly defined. Too many today have taken the word “tolerance,” emptied it of its historical meaning, and poured in their own definition: If you disagree with my view you are intolerant and need to be silenced or worse! For these folks, to tolerate means agreement and acceptance. To disagree and oppose it, to be intolerant Ultimately, this wrong-headed view of tolerance demands that all differences be eliminated, and everyone forced to believe the majority view. This reimagined definition rules out any consideration that minority opinions have a place in society. Ultimately, those who have co-opted tolerance for their own purposes are arguing for totalitarianism, and they don’t even know it. They simply can’t tolerate intolerance as they define it. Most movements today asserting their right to participate in the public square of ideas were once minority opinions whose adherents demanded that their opponents at least tolerate their position. And by tolerate they meant put up with, not agree with. They recognized they were swimming upstream against the current of culture and held that their being different should not be a reason for either persecution or expulsion. What they desired was tolerance, as it has always been understood. They didn’t expect everyone around them to change their opinions. They simply wanted the freedom to express theirs without recrimination. That’s what tolerance really means. To tolerate presupposes a difference of opinion. To tolerate means to put up with those with whom we radically disagree. It never has meant to agree with them … until now. And frankly, it’s killing us. As a pluralistic nation it is absolutely essential that we understand and practice the true meaning
of tolerance. If we expect to remain a nation that hangs together despite our differences, we must not become so sunburned on the surface that bumping into those with whom we differ causes us to forget who we are at the core. America is the grand democratic experiment, built on the premise that all are created equal. But if we redefine equality to mean we all must have the same opinions, we’re on the way to being a totalitarian state where some get to determine what equal means for the rest of us. And that won’t be America. So, for example, if you want to, you can believe that sex is not a fact but a preference, or that melanin actually determines one’s human value, if you want to be so foolish. But don’t expect those of us who disagree to remain quiet about what we believe. We must at least agree that neither of us has the right to curtail someone’s business through hate campaigns or force someone to go against their strongly held religious beliefs, or destroy another’s property, or treat any fellow member of the human race with anything less than respect, kindness, justice and neighborly love. We may not agree, but we must tolerate one another. We can argue vociferously, but we must stop short of inflicting harm. Why? Because at the core we are all human beings, made to reflect the character of our loving and holy God. Ultimately, we have the most important thing in common: personhood. And what’s more, we’re also Americans, and we’re in this together. On this Independence Day we do well to remember Benjamin Franklin’s cogent exhortation as he and a few courageous men considered the task of severing the colonies from bondage to the British crown. He said “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” And while the consequence of division today is not death by hanging, you get the idea. Yes, we have differences that need to be rationally discussed, with solutions being reached creatively and mutually. If we allow our differences to divide us, we’ll see our nation erode before our very eyes. In fact, we’re seeing that now and only the anarchists are applauding. Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays.
