While I was in full-time active diaconal ministry, I abstained from actively endorsing any political campaign. That didn’t mean I was silent about what I considered moral issues. Over the years, you would find on my car bumper stickers stating: “War is always a defeat for humanity! (Pope John Paul II); “Pro-life is more than just pro-birth.”; “Imagine a World where Pro-life efforts included feeding hungry children.”; “You cannot be a Christian without living like a Christian. You cannot be a Christian without practicing the Beatitudes. You cannot be a Christian without doing what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 25. It is hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away the refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry and thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of any help. If I say I am a Christian and do these things, I’m a hypocrite!” (Pope Francis 1). Of course, you would also see some bumper stickers that were a little more lighthearted, e.g. “Where are we going? And why are we in this handcart?” or “What if the Hokey-Pokey IS what it is all about?”
Now that I am fully retired from active ministry, I have the ability to more actively support the political campaigns of those candidates I believe more fully support the Gospel mandates that Jesus explicitly states in Matthew 25, with the acknowledgment that no political candidate nor no political party can fully embrace the life issues that are stated in that mandate that Jesus gave us.
This past week, Ruthie and I posted our political sentiments endorsing those candidates that we think best live out those mandates that Jesus gave us. We placed their campaign signs very close to our house, within 2 to 4 feet from our home. We have had three of those signs stolen. I would like to say that I am surprised by this however, the intolerance, politically and culturally, of New Prague is engrained in this community in which we have lived the past 43 years. When I filed my complaint with the New Prague police, I was rather explicit about the political and cultural bigotry of the community. After a couple of hours of to cool off, I penned the following letter to the editor of the New Prague Times, minus some of the colorful metaphors and questioning of the thieves legitimacy of birth, I used with the police. Here is that letter in its entirety.
“A healthy community is one that welcomes a diversity of culture and political discourse. As much as a we would like to think New Prague is a model community of political and cultural discourse, in the 43 years my family has lived here, we have found this far from the truth. There is a high degree of political and cultural intolerance in our community. There are those within our community who are dedicated in denying the freedom of speech that our nation’s Constitution guarantees all citizens of the United States. My family has recently experienced the theft of signs supporting political candidates of our choosing and causes we support. These signs were not just out on the boulevard but were located close to our house within our flower gardens. Thieves stole my family’s Constitutional right of Freedom of Speech from the sanctity of my home. New Prague, do you wish to be known as a community of intolerance and bigotry? Are only white, Czechoslovakian Republicans allowed to express their political opinions in this town? The theft of our Constitution’s Freedom of Speech is not a mark of a healthy democracy, rather it is indicative of totalitarian dictatorships. New Prague, we MUST be better than this!”
Thank you Deacon Bob for holding up a mirror for our community to see itself. I wish I had the hope that your letter might change behaviors. Peace to you. Perhaps we will see one another when we vote.
Pastor Diane, how good it is to hear from you! Thank you for your support. I similarly would wish that this letter to the editor will, at the very least, modify the intolerance in New Prague, but experience teaches me otherwise. Thank you for your blessing of peace! I extend the same blessing of peace to you and your family. Ruthie and I have been approved for our absentee ballots. As soon as they arrive we will vote and will personally bring them to the designated place in Scott County to be counted, so, we will have to find another place in which to meet. On a different note, I had a wonderful conversation with Pastor Ben from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. he wondered if he could have my permission to use the music I sent him for his virtual worship services. I told him, of course! I sent him permission in writing (the one thing I learned over my years in administration is “document, document, document.”). Would you like the same? Let me know.
Take care, stay safe, stay healthy!
Bob
Thank you Deacon Bob, and well said !
So Barry, you are saying that people trespassing on property uninvited and stealing property that it is opposition to their particular point of view is an honorable and just action? Theft is theft, Barry. It is rampant in this community. I am not the only one who has had candidate signs stolen from their property. I would equally object if anyone stole trump/pence signs out of someone’s yard. I may not agree with their candidates, but they have the right of Freedom of Speech to have those signs up without anyone taking that right from them. This is about people stealing another citizen’s Freedom of Speech. That is wrong and that is AGAINST the law of this land. New Prague should be better than this, but it is not!