.‘l letters UITM, PO Box 1078, Richmond, UT 05477-1078 III‘ oitm@tnnetheI-.net out in the Mountains welcomes your letters. Although we will withhold names from printing upon request , the letter must be accompanied by a verifiable name and address in order to be considered for publication. We try to print every letter we receive, but reserve the right to edit for space and clarity. editorial policy stated in the masthead. Not In My Back Yard Editor: I feel that it is morally and eth- nically wrong to allow people from other states to come and tell our ELECTED officers how to run the state. I’m referring to the letter from Hawaii and the recent visit of Pastor Fred Phelps. First of all, these people don’t even live in the state. So their opinions and forced hatred should not be acted upon. Granted, they have every right to voice their opinions, but we should not be swayed by their message. If you are, then the State of Vermont should become a mini-Kansas or mini-Hawaii and we should all live under THEIR laws and regulations and not be able to think for ourselves. Secondly, these people are only trying to keep hatred and discrimination alive. If they suc- ceed_ with the abolishment of the Gay Marriage Act, who’s to say they won’t move forward to Jewish people, Americans, Buddhists, etc.? People like Fred Phelps won’t stop atjust one group. We as a state showedjust how strong we are when we proved that outsiders are not wanted for political positions in Vermont. We need to show that same strength by standing together and letting our elected officials make the laws, not somebody from another state. Dean Pratt Burlington, VT Oppression or Christianity? Editor, Some recent editorials have downplayed the atrocities of. America’s past and exposed the blasphemy that justified those heinous practices as ‘Christian.’ What foolery can be made of people even today! The accounts have been handed down through generations of ancestors as well as through documented history. America was founded on princi- Family Ion continued from previous page successfully become public offi- ciais.” The Gay and Lesbian Victory Foundation, a national organiza- tion working to counter discrimi- nation based on sexual orientation in the public sphere, has trained more than 600 local leaders in past years. Application information is avail- able at (202) 628-9T5] or at www.victoryfimd.org/foundation. V African ‘ ples of mass murder and Calvinist oppression, NOT Christianity. The natives practiced reli- gions that were far superior to [those of the Europeans] as evi- denced by their respect for each other and all else of the Great Spirit. Although there were inci- dents of struggles between tribes for hunting rights, their accep- tance of the Europeans into the New World was more akin to the way you would expect people to behave by heeding the teachings 9 of Jesus Christ. Who plundered who? Who were the real savages? Who can deny the moral superi- ority of the Native Americans compared to white Europeans? The closest to being a Christian nation America has ever been came only with attempts by many decent and well-meaning people to emulate the loving Jesus by example. The enslavement and killing of Native Americans, the stealing of their land and resources does not get one into the Kingdom of God. The Puritans brought oppression of thought and continued the bib- lical deviations that ensured a rigid mind control of those colonists. ' White European supremacy was no more than an excuse for ‘me first’ values of instant gratifi- cation. Beckoning to Satan’s temptation was the nonn of white America until Vietnam exposed what America stood for,‘ not only by the treatment of the natives, but aisolby the perpetuation of slavery, discrimination, and imperial and post-imperial world domination for the wealth of a privileged few. Letters are also subject to the The wealthy and corrupt had" control of the masses and the government even before the American Revolution. God is money (“In God We Trust”) and dominates the lives of most Americans because of this privi- lege of the few. We are supposed to be happy and keep our mouths shut. This allows much suffering by America’s defenseless chil- dren, working poor, disabled, and elderly. The resistance to labor movements was not because Christians wished unfair wages and horrible working conditions on worker; rather, it was attrib- uted to control by the wealthy for bigger profits. It would be nice for America to have ever been a Christian nation. We cannot become a Christian nation amid the hypocrisy, the false teachings, and the coninuing lies. We remain a greedy nation always hungry for huge profits at the expense of human value. We instill the values of material wealth into our children and teach them to deplore the less- advantaged people of our society and the world. We are masters of judging others, even avoiding the problems of our greed by build- ing more prisons to contain the people who struggle in the exhaust of our oblivion. What an affront to Christians to have religious mainpulators discount the atrocities of our past and our present and steal hope from our present and steal hope from our future. Where is the shame? Rev. J. William Tucket Rutland, VT CUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — SEPTEMBER 1999 — 5 » 802-453-6677 fax 802-453-6685 diescoe@together.net PO Box 42 42 Trillium Lane Starksboro, VT 05487 investment Adviser " ,resentativ= of. and securities offered through Tower Square Securities. inc.‘ Member NASD/SIPC ‘ ‘Not affiliated with Choice Financial Services We dim? at am BED 6‘ BREAKFAST ' 'l he gruinlolli‘ nl':I \‘n||llIl‘i'n slylc p|:mIniiun_ ' A tr;n\'vloi"s ulrcann for nultlmvr :u~liviIios. ' ( lliIl|¥|Ci(‘i)‘ i'l‘lhI\':li(‘(l‘\)')_fi'ul1'i\Il|\i)'(‘flillllillillg|\\l‘il|i(‘l|It'(‘llill|‘}’ <~nmi'm'I \\iill limiry, ch;-rm am! in li'ioml|_\' zunlvionn‘. V BIWH. Mvlrannuu flu (cos) 752-0172 W. 400-80% Rag. 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