September 8, 2015.
To the Editor of the Shreveport Times:
I am not sure how much thought goes into which thinking pieces go in which editions, but you sure — in my view — got all three connected in the Tuesday issue.
I have no fear of being called a racist. Like members of any minority, I see problems before the average person does. And I do not decide how to view issues based on what some TV or newspaper thinker says.
So it is not fun for me to say I agree with the thinking of Cal Thomas — I usually disagree with him — when he warns Europe that they will be harmed by having so many immigrants. As a homosexual, the first thought (as I hear some of the immigrants are shouting Islamist slogans) is how they will affect my issues — Muslims kill homosexuals, and when they outnumber current residents of those nations they will impose Sharia law. (Also, since branches of Islam also are killing each other, will they leave that habit behind when they become citizens of European nations?)
Then I obviously disagree with the unAmerican/unChristian thinking of Sarah Hudson Pierce — who seems to think her version of the Bible is right and the views of others are wrong. Sort of like the people who attacked Jesus — the Pharisees and Sadducees — for violating the “rules.” The “connection” is that she will not be happy when there is a majority of Muslims in this area and her religious rules are replaced by Islamic rules. So much for understanding why most good Americans promote separation of church and state. (It is “interesting” that she would be happy under Islam, since that religion hates LGBT people too — but then it hates everyone who is not Muslim, or the “correct” form of Islam.)
As to Rick Jensen, who seems to think the world is bad because of Obama, I do wonder where he was when Bush led us into Iraq. But it is irrelevant, since he needs to read Cal Thomas. It is irrelevant what we do in the Middle East — if we are going to have all the unhappy Muslims, of different persuasions — Shia, Sunni, etc. — move to our land and take over.
It may not be simple, but Americans who care must think, not fall for slogans and just oppose any idea because it comes from someone or some group they hate. We are not in a game. It does matter after the game between LSU and Tulane, what happens to the state and nation. Be loyal to your school, but do seek knowledge even if it comes from Tulane and not LSU, etc.
Billy,
Thank you. It is apparent that you are truly thinking all of this through as opposed to simply reacting based on ideology. Your concern about your well-being from radical Islam is obviously borne from reality.
I do not believe the world is bad because of Obama. I believe President Obama lacks the strength and knowledge to be an effective international leader. His strength and focus has always been to achieve liberal, big-government domestic policies. I believe President Obama’s strengths are in forcefully securing his domestic policies. He is an effective politician, leveraging money and power in his own way. Whether or not you agree with his policies, and I don’t, I believe an honest assessment recognizes these accomplishments. This “deal” with Iran is already mocked by Iranian leaders and will allow what I believe history has demonstrated to be a murderous regime targeting women and children with terrorist attacks to achieve their religious and political goals, including destroying Israel “in 25 years.”
I am a “Tea Party” conservative who doesn’t freak out over sharing the world or a dinner table with gay friends. I believe the Government should not bequeath marriage licenses and that schools and churches need to separate themselves from the federal government whether it’s tax code or funding benefits. I also believe history articulated in the Bible and secular sources demonstrate the Pharisees and Sadducees were politicians first and foremost, protecting their positions in the government, using religion to forward their own personal goals. They were not religious leaders. They were frauds.
I am a Christian who thoughtfully considers evolution is certainly a valid theory, and if macro-evolution* is proven to exist perhaps it is a construct of God.
Maybe that gives you an idea of some of my thinking.
* As Gregor Mendel observed with his breeding studies on peas in the mid 1800’s, there are natural limits to genetic change. A population of organisms can vary only so much. What causes macroevolutionary change?
Genetic mutations produce new genetic material, but do these lead to macroevolution?
The terms macroevolution and microevolution were first coined in 1927 by the Russian entomologist Iuri’i Filipchenko in his German-language work Variabilität und Variation, which was an early attempt to reconcile Mendelian genetics and evolution.
Rick Jensen
Talk Show Host / Syndicated Columnist
WDEL AM&FM / Cagle Syndicate
#TheJensenShow
You know the history — homosexuals were “sick, sinful and criminal.” We had to educate ourselves first, and slowly since 1950 we have done so. Like all causes/movements, there have been disagreements over priorities and methods.
One of the main differences with us and others in the movement has been that we (except for a few like me) were conservatives, who knew not to trust the government. When it became possible many gay centers and groups started taking government/taxpayer support. We have never taken such funding.
A good example why was if we accepted funding to help in disease control — even before AIDS — we would have had to divulge names to justify that we were actually working. We also did not want money to try to stop prostitution — others have taken both types of funding. But it is the same as your objection to federal funding of schools — if you take the money, you have to take their rules, etc.
Until recently the government, more than businesses, has been our enemy — as is most “religion.” So we know not to trust experts, etc. They were wrong about sexuality and could be wrong about other issues.
Because they agreed with us on the issue of prostitution, people at The Playboy Foundation gave funding to issue a statement explaining why. BUT they said they would not donate to our mission as homosexuals should work and pay for their own cause. That is what I am saying about the Muslims, most in good shape and taking selfies of themselves, shouting their religious slogan and fussing because they are not getting better treatment, wanting Europe — and not Arab/Muslim countries — to give them a better life.
But what makes life complicated is that I am from here (LA) and know that it took federal efforts to force the end of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Laws can not make people love people of a different race, religion, sexuality, etc., but no law should make the views of some citizens the rule for all citizens. That is the mistake the woman in KY is making. And that brings the circle around — she would NOT be there under Sharia law — so letting one religion dominate today does not mean another religion may not dominate tomorrow, so the answer is separation of church and state.
Best wishes, and I hope to read more of your thinking.