Letters on fear, banning Muslim travel, refugees, Fed interest rate

In the end, it will be fear that destroys us

Recent leaders, and wannabe leaders, continue to spout untruths and dangerous religious bigotry. In particular, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, and more broadly those who refuse to condemn his bigotry, float notions of a nationwide database, identification cards, shutting down places of worship, and now denying entry into our country of all Muslims. These ideas strike at the very heart of the religious freedom upon which this country was built, and are tools to keep a fearful citizenry easier to control.

It is time for us as a nation, as people of faith, as citizens who may or may not have any religious affiliation or belief, to speak out and say, “Enough!”

I stand in solidarity with my Muslim friends, brothers and sisters with whom I have worshipped, prayed and shared meals, conversation and fellowship. We worship and share the same roots of faith in the same God. We long to live in the world peaceably, seeking to find the common ground of justice, kindness and humility for all.

Until we realize fear is the enemy, not fellow human beings seeking the same peace as we, and until we realize we are all in this together, for the common good, we will continue to live in fear. And it will be fear, in the end, that will destroy us, not them.

Understanding is stronger than bigotry. Welcome is stronger than exclusion. Compassion is stronger than ignorance. Love is stronger than fear.

Keep out refugees

I do not agree with President Obama keeping doors open for all refugees. My father fought for this country for many years. I know from the stories he has told that there are many crazy people who will do anything to get bombs where they want them to be.

Just because the Republicans do not want to keep the doors open does not make us cowards. We just don’t want to be blindsided by a terrorist. Not all Syrian “refugees” are harmless, as shown by what happened in Paris.

Our country can still be loving and compassionate, but we need to be smart and protective of our citizens. We just can’t allow people into our country who have a plan to harm us in the future. If we can’t tell them apart, we shouldn’t allow any of them.

Lack of character

The persecution of others based on our irrational fears shows a serious lack of character in our society.

Here’s what I learned from my father, Ray Renner: Don’t let fear rule your life. Make your decisions based on your ethics, your morals and your personal standards. And stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

I can’t tell you how many times I saw him live by these convictions. What I know is that it shaped my world and the way I look at it.

We need to stop letting the media manipulate us and our emotions. The world would be a better place if we would base our actions and words on thoughtfully predetermined values that we believe to our core and would die for, versus knee-jerk responses to a bunch of talking heads, politicians and candidates whose only objective is to keep our eyes on their channel, or to get our vote for whatever nefarious purpose they may have in mind.

Fed: Don’t raise rates

The Federal Reserve is about to make the most important economic decision since the financial crash. And it could be a huge mistake.

If the Fed raises rates at its next meeting, it will mean higher mortgage rates, more expensive loans, fewer jobs and lower wages.

The Fed thinks we’ve recovered from the financial crash, but for my constituents, there hasn’t been a recovery. In Wichita, unemployment, particularly for minorities, is higher than the state average. In some areas of my district, unemployment is nearly 12 percent, while the state average is closer to 4.4 percent.

When the Fed raises interest rates, the economy slows down and employment and wages freeze or start to fall again. When the Fed says it wants to raise interest rates, it is telling us to get used to the economy as it is: twice as many people as before the recession working part time because they can’t find full-time work, double-digit unemployment in black communities, and decades of flat wages.

The Fed has a dual mandate: to maximize employment and to maintain stable prices. The only reason to raise interest rates would be to stop inflation. But there isn’t any inflation in the economy – we are still below the Fed’s target rate. If it raises rates, the Fed would sacrifice additional job and wage gains, all for the sake of an inflation threat that doesn’t even exist.

We need a recovery that works for everyone, including communities of color. We need to keep interest rates low so working families like mine have a chance for better jobs and better wages.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Letters on fear, banning Muslim travel, refugees, Fed interest rate."