Letters to the editor on religion, unemployment, divisions and voting rights
Religion
The opinion piece by Andres Oppenheimer in the April 13 Wichita Eagle had a few discoveries to share from recent polls. But the decline of religion in the modern age is not one of them. That trend has been building for at least seven decades. Oppenheimer seems genuinely concerned about the decline, and raises a call to action to rescue a few moral values by asking the three major “religions of the book” — Islam, Judaism and Christianity — to jettison their “old dogmas and rituals” and concentrate more on “people’s spiritual improvement.”
Where Oppenheimer goes wrong is using a secular model to represent religion. He calls religion a business, which it is not; he thinks that religion’s primary purpose is to teach children not to lie and steal; and he never considers that dogma and ritual may contribute to spiritual growth.
Religion’s role is not to teach basic moral values; it does that by adhering to its intent to learn more about God, however one chooses to conceive God, and God’s relation to humanity. The search for meaning and belonging that Oppenheimer cites ends in worship and praise of God. Morality inherently follows from this.
Oppenheimer is alarmed that major religions are in decline. But his secular myopia prevents him from offering any real-life solutions to the problem.
Unemployment
Enough is enough! I’ve been employed consistently for close to 40 years and have never filed for unemployment assistance.
Now that I need assistance I can’t — and I can’t speak to anyone at the Labor Department to help me get support from a program I have paid into for over 35 years.
When I go to the unemployment website to review the status of my claim all I see is “no claim paid week of xx.” If I try calling the KDOL all I get is a message that “all agents are assisting other callers and the que is full, please call back later”.
Where are the new agents the secretary of labor told us she was hiring? How can the current agents be busy with other Kansans every hour of the day, every day of the week, every week for the last 5+ months?
The state of Kansas has failed at a level so unbelievably high, that if this were a public company the entire C-Suite would be fired and lawsuits filed.
Governor Kelly I demand a response!
Divisions
In 1787 the Father of our Constitution, James Madison, wrote in Federalist 10 that republics fail due to factions, differences among the people that cause them to separate, become unable to recognize each other as fellow citizens. Our republic is failing: America in 2021 is absorbed in factions, allowing race, gender, ethnicity or sexual preference to define us instead of our natural shared humanity. Better than simply a shared humanity we could aim even higher, to Martin Luther King’s dream, and let the content of our character define each of us as individuals.
Today our leaders endlessly promote factions which divide instead of all that is good about Americans, which could unite. The next time you hear a politician demeaning fellow citizens, the next time you hear a national leader portray our nation as altogether racist or sexist, allow their bitterness to create in you a longing for kind and decent leaders, optimistic leaders worthy of trust and capable of unifying a diverse people. Allow the bad-mouthing to stir in you the very vision of our founders and Dr. King, that out of many people we become one. Sounds moral, does it not?
Voting rights
The current slough of voting rights legislation that is being rushed through many state legislatures should first be voted on by the citizens of that state. Voting rights are too important for each citizen to just leave to the varied partisan decisions. We each need to push our representatives that for any voting right changes be put on local and state ballots.