Letters to the editor on NDO, Kapaun, COVID and Taiwan

Non-discrimination

A group of Wichita clergy said it well in a recent letter to the editor: People calling themselves Christians continue to hurl their hate onto vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community and using God to justify it.

I’d like to add as a member of one of the protected classes, that these right-wing religious groups lack our level of legal standing. They have the luxury of pondering what might happen the next time they want to violate someone’s rights as an extension of their religious conscience.

We have to worry about our lives.

We don’t have the privilege of worrying about frivolous lawsuits that conservative judges will toss anyway. We have to worry about being physically assaulted by members of that same religious community who believe Scripture sanctions such violence or by those who hear such rhetoric and believe it gives them license.

I’m stunned that the notion of equal rights — in our case, the right to simply exist — is controversial.

Wichita must pass this measure and not just because not passing it could mean we’ll likely not attract new businesses because we look frightened and backward. We should pass this measure because our rights are not like pizza — if I get more, you get less. Our rights are more like love — there is plenty for anyone who needs it.

Kapaun and Moore

The unidentified remains of Father Kapaun rested in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii known as the Punchbowl Cemetery, for decades under the protective gaze of Columbia.

This beautiful 30-foot stone statue by former Wichita artist Bruce Moore was erected in 1964 to honor the sacrifices and achievements of American Armed Forces in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean War. It was later expanded to include the Vietnam War.

The names of some 28,788 personnel missing in action, lost or buried at sea — including Father Kapaun — are memorialized with their names on 10 marble slabs. The inscription below the statue was taken from President Lincoln’s letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a widow believed to have lost five sons in the Civil War: “The solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”

A statistic?

Josef Stalin once said “One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” In this country, we have now passed 700,000 deaths from COVID-19. If excess deaths are factored in, it is reasonable to assume the death rate is higher.

This pandemic is a tragedy that could have been largely mitigated with common sense applications such as a simple vaccine or wearing a face mask. Instead, it has become politicized by social media and political demagoguery.

I hate to say a monster like Stalin was right, but I think this has just become a statistic in many minds. We all surely want to return to normal, but to save more lives will require cooperation with public health recommendations.

Taiwan

As China becomes more antagonistic with Taiwan the U.S. needs to consider what our plan is if China decides to unify Taiwan by force.

Taiwan is not capable of defending itself without our assistance. If we are not going to provide that assistance then we need to inform all the parties involved so they can come to a peaceful settlement. If we are, the Pentagon needs to put together a plan that ensures that such a plan is successful.

An old Roman general once said if you want peace prepare for war. A miscalculation could lead to such a war. A very costly and devise war.