To the editor,

I’ve been a churchgoer most of my life, but I find nature and a long walk along the river with my dog just as spiritual with a lot less ambiguity. However, when I see the religious right preaching the opposite of what I was taught, I am compelled to speak up. Seeing scripture weaponized by some evangelicals and conservative zealots makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I’ve always intervened when I saw bullies picking on the weak or different, transformed into action by my past experience of being bullied myself. I cannot reconcile MAGA’s bullying and weaponization of religion.
I do not believe in loving your neighbor only if they voted the way you did. I do not believe in dominance instead of justice. I do not believe in fear instead of compassion. I do not believe in taking food, shelter, and peace from others because they don’t look like you. I will not follow edicts that only allow religion matching their theology. And most importantly, I choose love, not hate.
We are being bullied by the rich and powerful, but we are many, they are few. We have the real power and it’s time we use it. I implore you to take a stand to help stop the insanity, the bullying, and the killing.

Tom Garfin

River Falls