The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1306441
A-12 Wednesday, November 4, 2020 The Press-Dispatch OPINION Submit Letters to the Editor: Letters must be signed and received by noon on Mondays. Email: editor@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Race for the Cure By Star Parker Points to Ponder By Rev. Ford Bond The assault on religious freedom during COVID-19 During the course of the COVID-19 crisis, an ongoing, and very legitimate, national debate has continued about the wisdom of lock- downs. The decision to shut down so- cial and commercial activity in the name of health is itself arbitrary. Then, the decision to decide what to shut down and what not to shut down, what activities are more es- sential than others, adds more ar- bitrariness. These decisions reflect the val- ues and priorities of those with pow- er who are making them. In our in- creasingly secular society, this is posing enormous problems and challenges for religious freedom. Earlier this year, Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley in Nevada failed in its attempt to get the Supreme Court to rein in Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak's order that arbitrarily clamps down more severely on churches than on gambling casinos. Nevada's policy that restaurants, bars, casinos and gyms can oper- ate at 50 % capacity, while houses of worship are limited to a maximum of 50 people regardless of their ca- pacity. In a 5 -4 vote, the court refused in- junctive relief for Calvary Chapel. Justice Brett Kavanaugh got to the heart of the matter in his dis- sent. "Nevada's rules," wrote Kavana- ugh, "reflect an implicit judgement that for-profit assemblies are im- portant and religious gatherings are less so; that moneymaking is more important than faith during the pandemic." But rather than the fight being over, it is continuing and picking up steam. A few weeks ago, a federal district court judge ruled in favor of Capi- tol Hill Baptist Church in its com- plaint against Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser's executive order prohibiting religious gather- ings of more than 100 people, in- doors or outdoors. The church, in its complaint and request for relief, noted that the mayor herself appeared and spoke at an outdoor gathering of "tens of thousands of people" in downtown Washington. A federal district court judge in Colorado has just ruled in favor of two local churches that filed a suit challenging the state's rules requir- ing masks and limiting the size of indoor gatherings. The judge found that the rules for religious institu- tions were more severe than for sec- ular ones and, therefore, unconsti- tutional. However, a lawsuit filed by Ortho- dox Jews and Catholics in New York against Gov. Andrew Cuomo's re- strictions on indoor gatherings was met with less success, as a federal district court judge ruled in favor of the state. Lockdowns present a formida- ble test and challenge to the coun- try. Our Constitution, with its Bill of Rights, was formulated with the idea that a legal fence could be built to protect individual freedom from arbitrary violations. One of America's Founding Fa- thers, John Adams, used the phrase "a government of laws, not of men" to capture the idea that we should aspire to limit arbitrary power giv- en to men. But government-mandated lock- down is all about giving politicians enormous arbitrary power. America was founded by those seeking religious freedom. Recall the famous sermon in 1630 by Pu- ritan John Winthrop, founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the nation's first colonies. "For we must consider," said Win- throp, "that we shall be as a city up- on a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and by-word through the world." But the religion, and the freedom to practice it, that was most import- ant to John Winthrop and many of the founders of this country is least Continued on page 13 Continued on page 13 Continued on page 13 From time to time I receive an ar- ticle sent by my dear friends and I find it's worth sharing, because it has great value and it impacts my way of thinking. Here's one. I'm not sure how true or accurate this story is but I'll go ahead and tell it. The last wishes of Alexan- der the Great on his deathbed: Al- exander summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes. First, the best doctors should carry his coffin. Second, the wealth he ac- cumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery. Third, his hands should be let loose so they hang outside the coffin for all to see. One of the generals who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander to explain what was this all about. Here's what Alexander the Great had to say. "First, I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal. Sec- ond, I want the road to be covered with my treasures so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth will stay on earth. Third, I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people un- derstand that we came to this world empty-handed and we leave this world empty-handed after the most precious treasure of all is ex- hausted…and that is TIME. We do not take to our next journey any materi- al wealth. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is limited. We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time. • • • When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that will never come back. Our time is our life. May God give us plenty of time to share the important things in life. Let us build and share virtues of love, kindness, compassion, caring, sacrifices, forgiveness, and hope, es- pecially during these difficult times In which we find ourselves. It seems we now have found more time to pon- der, reflect and reassess our priorities. • • • I think this story is neat and appropriate for our cur- rent time. A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like. So the Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the mid- dle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but be- cause the handle was longer than My Point of View By H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. Alexander the Great Heritage Viewpoint By James Carafano President Trump has to think twice about pardon for Edward Snowden Continued on page 13 Continued on page 13 Minority View By Walter E. Williams Is getting Trump worth it? We are witnessing a seismic shift The first wave of baby boomers stormed the sixties and shouted, "Times Are Changing and You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows"; Generations X, Y, and Z are saying the same thing just in a different way. We are witnessing a paradigm shift among nations and peoples all throughout the world. COVID-19 is not the only cause, but it highlights how fragile everyday life can be. Gov- ernments have enacted shutdowns that eight months ago would have been unheard of. Several states are still in lockdown-stay at home mode, and several countries, including New Zealand and Australia and England are basically closed for all travel. For the United States, the Presi- dential election yesterday signaled a paradigm shift of seismic propor- tions regardless who won. It is not because the nation seems so polar- ized between left and right or so- cialism and capitalism. What we are witnessing is the last presidential election before the changing of the guard. This is the last election that two candidates connected to World War Two will be at the top of the bal- lot [Biden 1942 and Trump 1946]. The next election in 2024 will most likely feature candidates from Gener- ation X who were born between 1965 - 1980 and are supported by Genera- tions Y and Z. Simple demograph- ics are working against the Baby Boomer Generation of Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden. Expect to see more progressives elected, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashi- da Tlaib. The United States has not experi- enced such division since the elec- tion of 1860. To say that election was acrimonious is an understatement. Several southern states threatened to secede if Lincoln was elected, yet it was the Democrats who split their party that allowed Lincoln to win the election. Lincoln pulled 39.8 per- cent of the vote while the other three Democrats pulled 60.2 percent. The South seceded, and the rest is what is called history. Though we do not have states threatening to leave the Union [though some entertainers are threatening to leave the country], we are peppered with editorials and social commentary that tell us re- gardless of who wins, the immedi- ate future is not going to sit well with whomever loses. Many Christians were heavily in- vested in the election claiming that to vote for the other guy is unchris- tian! What these groups fail to real- ize is that humanity is flawed, and the scripture reminds us that we are but dust and clay. Regardless of whom "won," the same issues remain. We must grap- ple with identity politics and the re- lentless crush of social media's call to abandon this unredeemable culture and government that undergirds the United States. Being concerned and voting is not the issue. A nation must have a functioning government. That being said, Christians must be aware that government is made up of men and women who are imperfect, yet they hope that government will save them from the evil intent of others. The So- cial Gospel has replaced the Gospel of Redemption which has changed the mission of the church from sav- ing souls to demanding and agitating for social justice as a means to make a heaven on earth. Many Christians have forgotten they are called to be pilgrims and to act as such. Political candidates and their acolytes claim they can re- make and heal the nation and bring all of God's people into the Promised Land. Government is about controlling the levers of power, taxation, and has a monopoly upon the use of force. The fruit of the workings of govern- ment is far removed from what Chris- tians knew as the Fruit of the Spirit. The promises of God and the Kingdom resides among mankind through Jesus Christ, not govern- ment. The scriptures repeatedly ad- monish the faithful that government at best is the best of the worst and serves its own interests. Some of those who sought the City of God, the writer says, were tor- President Trump has suggested that Edward Snowden should return home from Russia. He later said he is considering a pardon for the former federal government contractor, who fled the United States after he bla- tantly stole tens of thousands of clas- sified and sensitive documents from the National Security Agency, many of which have been publicly released. Getting Snowden back in the coun- try would assist intelligence officials to determine the extent in which he breached national security and col- luded with foreign powers. But he should not be allowed back by the means of a pardon from the White House. Snowden is a criminal fugi- tive who should be judged for his ac- tions before a pardon can be consid- ered. Snowden claims he is no criminal but rather a whistleblower who re- leased classified information to ex- pose "illegal spying" on citizens at the National Security Agency and the intelligence services of our al- lies. But there is no evidence that Snowden ever tried to seek whistleblow- er protection. Even more important, however, his dec- laration is patently untrue. Snowden revealed the data collection program known as Prism, lawful- ly conducted under the Foreign Intelli- gence Surveillance Act and focused on identifying terrorists around the world with a goal of disrupting their plans. Snowden alleged that the Na- tional Security Agency abused such authority by illegally collecting and retaining information on Ameri- cans, yet no credible evidence has surfaced to back such claims. It is hard to fathom the true ex- tent of the damage that his treachery has done to our national security and our allies. A month before leaving for Russia, he downloaded and stole tens of thousands of highly classified documents. He also leaked some of our most sensitive information for collection platforms. This success with distribut- ing so much classified data has made Snowden one of the most notorious traitors. Russia has no doubt bene- fited from the treasure trove that he carried to Moscow in return for asylum. All the while, the United States dedicated years work- ing to clearly understand the extent of the damage from the treasonous actions, like unauthorized removal of such highly classified information and the enabled leaks of some of that material. The size and breadth of the intelli- gence breach conducted by Snowden President Donald Trump is not the first president to be hated by a large segment of the American pop- ulation. In more recent times, there was considerable hate for President Ronald Reagan. Even though the Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill and Reagan were polar opposites in their politics, they could be friends. Once, when Reagan con- fronted O'Neill about nasty things that he said about him in a newspa- per, O'Neill replied, "That's just pol- itics, after 6 o'clock we're buddies — we're friends." Politics today has become something not seen in our history. The true tragedy is that ma- ny Americans have bought into the hate, destructiveness and plain nas- tiness and are seemingly ignorant or uncaring about its long-term conse- quences for our nation. Democrats say that if they win the presidency, they would increase the size of the U.S. Supreme Court by ap- pointing justices who would do their bidding — packing the court. One wonders whether they think that a future Republican president would simply ignore what they have done. I doubt it. A future Republican presi- dent would resort to the same tactic and appoint justices that would do his bid- ding. The U.S. Su- preme Court would become no less than a super-legisla- ture, subject to the will of politicians. Last June, the U.S. House of Rep- resentatives passed a bill in favor of D.C. statehood. The measure was dead on arrival at the Republi- can-controlled Senate. But should Joe Biden win the presidency and bring with him majorities in the House and Senate, he would make statehood for D.C. — and Puerto Ri- co — a political priority. That would give the Democrats four more seats in the U.S. Senate, therefore guar- anteeing them a solid majority. But would Republicans accept that with- out a response? What about splitting up strong Republican states, such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wy- oming, Utah and Idaho. For exam- ple, create a West Oklaho- ma and East Oklahoma or a North Utah and South Utah. That would give the Republi- cans four additional senators thereby offsetting the new Democratic senators. You say, "Williams, divid- ing up states to get greater representation in the House of Representatives and the Senate would violate the Con- stitution." The fact of the matter is that making Washington, D.C., a state would violate the Constitution. Article I, Section 8, clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution provides explicit- ly for a national capital that would not be part of a state nor treated as a state, but rather a jurisdiction un- der the exclusive authority of Con- gress, a neutral "district" in which representatives of all the states could meet on an equal footing to conduct the nation's business. So, far as dividing up states, Arti-