In an editorial in the March 5th edition of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Cal Thomas is lamenting the passage of Bill SB 777 which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed into law in California. Mr. Thomas quoted Pastor Ron Gleason as saying "SB 777 essentially makes it lawful for public schools to 'indoctrinate' children as young as pre-kindergarten to accept homosexuality and "other sexually deviant lifestyles" as normal and morally acceptable."
Attitudes like that of Ron Gleason, whom Cal Thomas seems to admire so much, is what led to 15 year old Lawrence "Larry" King being shot and killed in front of the other students in his class by classmate, Brandon McInerney - for being openly gay. Violence against gay students is on the rise in our public schools. Bills, such as SB 777 in California, are intended to curb this trend and prevent more brutal murders and other acts of violence.
As a Christian, it boggles my mind how some of my fellow Christians think it acceptable to teach their children that it's OK to hate certain people simply because they've made different lifestyle choices. Such attitudes are inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ whom we all claim to worship. If people, like Gleason, could look past their homophobia, they would realize that teaching children to accept all people is teaching them a Christian value.
Furthermore, Christians, like myself, have been sending their children to public schools for many years - and most of those children turn into god fearing adults. When a child rejects his religious upbringing, it is more likely due to his home environment rather than anything the schools taught him. If Mr. Gleason is so concerned about declining morals in this country then he needs to make sure his own house is in order by teaching his congregation the importance of good parenting.
How does this look? Does it get my point across forcefully enough? I'm concerned it may be a bit too long to include in the 'letters to the editor' section of our newspaper. Any ideas on how could I shorten it without diminishing the message I'm trying to convey?
5 comments:
Nothing to add. Just want to say this very article had me upset today enough to blog on it also, but you’ve brightened my day for getting involved.
As for shortening it; don’t ask me. Most my editorials are too long, and I hate cutting off even one point :-).
I just sent my letter to the editor off, with some minor tweaks. Now we'll have to wait and see if they choose to print it. Here is the revised letter that I sent
In an editorial in the March 5th edition of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Cal Thomas lamented the passage of Bill SB 777 which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed into law in California. Mr. Thomas quoted Ron Gleason (pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda, California) as saying "SB 777 essentially makes it lawful for public schools to 'indoctrinate' children as young as pre-kindergarten to accept homosexuality and "other sexually deviant lifestyles" as normal and morally acceptable."
Attitudes like that of Ron Gleason, whom Cal Thomas seems to admire so much, is what led to 15 year old Lawrence "Larry" King being shot in front of the other students in his class by classmate, Brandon McInerney - for being openly gay. Violence against gay students is on the rise in our public schools. Bills, such as SB 777 in California, are intended to curb this trend and prevent more brutal murders and other acts of violence (both physical and verbal).
As a conservative Christian, it boggles my mind how some of my fellow Christians think it acceptable to teach their children that it's OK to hate certain people simply because they've made different lifestyle choices. Such attitudes are inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ whom we all claim to worship. If people, like Gleason, could look past their homophobia, they would realize that teaching children to accept all people and to abhor intolerance and violence is teaching them good Christian values.
Furthermore, Christians, like myself, have been sending our children to public schools for many years - and most of those children turn into god fearing adults. When a child rejects his religious upbringing, it is more likely due to his home environment rather than anything the schools taught him. If Mr. Gleason is so concerned about declining morals in this country then he needs to make sure his own house is in order by teaching his congregation how to be good parents.
BRAVO!
What a wonderful example you are setting Abe.
it is no wonder so many of you are my personal heroes!
and it was wonderfully written. it answers the 5 basic tennets of good communication.
You're such an activist! Way to go!
I'm afraid my 'activism' is short lived. Letters in response to an editorial usually appear within a couple of days. My letter hasn't appeared yet (it was sent via email, their preferred method); although, a letter to the editor which expressed similar sentiments was printed:
FOCUS ON ... Protecting all of our children
So, I doubt very much that mine will ever see the light of day :(
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