Anti-Christian? Re-read the gospels
The recent mean-spirited comments by Rep. Lawrence Lockman on his Facebook page have left me feeling sad and discouraged about the state of politics in Maine. What is Lockman hoping to gain by calling Ben Chin an “anti-Christian”? And by what authority does he make this claim? Perhaps he should take some time to acquaint — or reacquaint — himself with the teachings of the Christian gospels, the handbook for all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus.
Read what Jesus says: Love your neighbors. Love your enemies. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick. Read what Jesus did: He showed compassion and love to everyone, regardless of their race, gender or social status.
Negative attacks on Chin’s campaign — racist signs, name calling, hateful untruths — these are not examples of Christian behavior. What has happened to basic human decency and dignity in Maine politics? There are so many problems that need attention, and elected officials have the opportunity to make positive changes instead of contributing to the fear and anger that seems to be dividing us more all the time.
Before Lockman calls anyone else an “anti-Christian,” I would recommend Matthew 7:3, Jesus’ teaching about judgment. “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
Janie Phillips
Belfast
Community connector shortcomings
It’s important that we do something to encourage more people to ride the Community Connector buses and, for those who ride, to use them more.
I am moving from Bangor because any of the part-time jobs I could get to keep me here needed me to work in the evening or late into the night. Because the bus does not run in the evening I had to turn down these offers. My last job application sits on a desk at Marden’s, waiting until I can get transportation so I can be there until 8 p.m. I’m going to need to move and be closer to my family. Emergencies frequently happen, and I couldn’t work part time just to pay for transportation.
Many seniors and people with disabilities also have told me how much easier it would be to have a monthly bus pass they could hang around their neck in a plastic sleeve instead of having to fish for change each time they ride. It’s difficult for stiff old hands to pick coins up during the winter months. And what does this also do to a bus driver’s schedule? It slows them down.
I’d ride more often and so would others if the monthly pass cost less. Many cannot afford $45 per month. If I forget to get to the bank for change or if I have to ride too many times, it can just cost too much. It adds up.
Even with these problems, the city bus transportation has been like a blessing for me and many other people. I hope the city will consider some of these things and try something different so that more will ride it in the future.
Charlene Cross
Bangor
Stop the robocalls
Recently, our dinner hour was rudely interrupted by a recorded robocall from Rep. Bruce Poliquin. This isn’t the first time he’s done this, and there was no name displayed on the caller ID.
Don’t most of us wish that our congressional representative was working on legislation to block these obnoxious intrusions instead of perpetrating them?
Stephen Collier
Surry
Enough nonsense from Lockman
Maine Rep. Larry Lockman, R-Amherst, has now accused Ben Chin, who recently got the most votes for mayor of Lewiston and will be in a runoff election, of being “ an anti-Christian bigot” when in fact Chin is a lay official of an Episcopal (Christian) church. Why? Because he wrote a sermon about conscience, community, about acting or doing, instead of just praying. This translates to anti-American and anti-Christian bigotry to Lockman apparently. Enough of this nonsense.
First of all, one shouldn’t have to prove one is a “real Christian” or a certain type of Christian, not a Muslim, a religious but not secular Jew or, God forbid, not an atheist, to be elected to public office. We are supposed to have freedom of belief in this country, and we have a secular government for good reason. Regarding religion, the Constitution states only that there shall be no “establishment of religion”; that there be free exercise of it; and that “no religious test shall ever be required” for office.
Lockman’s comments continue to exceed the bounds of reason and decency. Remember, he is the one who also recommended that rape be legal if abortion is. Do his constituents really stand behind this man?
Nancy Glista
Bar Harbor
Holocaust, part two
The play “ Life in a Jar” animated the heroism of Irena Sendler, who saved thousands of Jewish children from extermination in Nazi death camps during World War II. Today the atrocities committed by Hitler’s henchmen are looked upon with utter disbelief. That genocide of such magnitude was accomplished without worldwide outcry and resistance boggles the mind. Unchallenged, the Nazi extermination machine almost erased the European Jew. The determination of a few, fearless saviors of Jews, who risked their and their family’s lives to fight that oppression, was captured in a play, which showed the audience that a little good can triumph over a bigger evil.
The concluding applause heard at Hampden Academy should not have been merely a “reward” for the excellent performance of the young Kansan actors. It should have been an affirmation that Jews should never again be subjected to the horrors of the Warsaw ghetto. Hitler’s goal to eradicate all Jews from Europe was articulated in advance and well-planned by his regime. That it failed to achieve his “final solution” was because of the Allies’ belated destruction of that odious Reich.
Today, the Nazis have re-emerged, disguised as the clerics of Iran, who preach the extermination of Israel. Once again, Jews are in the crosshairs of a potent and hate-filled enemy. Seventy years after the conclusion of “The Holocaust, Part 2,” will people be celebrating the heroic exploits of another Irena Sendler, or, before we arrive at that calamity, will the US lead the world community in preventing new Nazis from achieving their stated goal?
Ron Goldstone
Dexter