Fact vs Fiction

Editor:

Our firstborn child had imaginary friends, and I encouraged this fiction as it brought him joy in a rather dull adult world until he had a little brother who eventually was old enough to be a friend. Santa was another fiction in our family, and I remember the day, in the middle of the summer, when we were alone, that the big brother asked me if Santa is real. We decided to keep the fantasy alive for the sake of the little brother.

When do stories become harmful? When does the truth set us free? Remember the fable of the swindlers who tricked the townspeople into believing they had made beautiful clothes for the emperor? It was a little child who spoke the truth, and, like the naked emperor, the people were exposed and embarrassed.

After Pearl Harbor was bombed, a couple of swindlers spread the falsehood that Japanese Americans were a threat to our national security. The report that documented the fact that Japanese Americans were unusually loyal was ordered to be burned, and all but one copy was destroyed. That one copy was discovered by a meticulous, retired woman who spent years in the National Archives photocopying documents related to the incarceration of more than a hundred thousand Japanese Americans. We now know that it was really just two men who, by fueling racist fears, orchestrated the entire, horrible operation.

The truth comes out more quickly now, but one of our most basic freedoms is to believe fiction. The racism that caused so many Americans to fear Japanese Americans is now evident in our fear of immigrants. Do we not remember the original residents on this continent? Do we not acknowledge that our differences are blessings?

Where is the little child who will expose our mistakes? When will we have the courage to admit that we choose what to believe and that fear can undermine our faith? Remember, the swindlers in the fable told the people that only smart people could see the beautiful clothes. It seems we become most defensive when our intelligence is questioned.

Carolyn Peterson

Houghton

Science Awareness

Editor:

Have we ever thought about what happens to the winter road salt? Does it end up in our rivers and lakes and alter the water chemistry? How does the winter road salt affect plants? Winter road salt also corrodes our cars. Do we have a proper diet and sleep and get exercise regularly to prevent disease? We need to be more concerned with disease prevention rather than focusing on healthcare treatments all the time. For several years at the University of Michigan and Case Western Reserve we studied disease mechanisms and potential treatments, but actually only one percent of biomedical research becomes a clinical reality.

Kind Regards,

Mike Renier

Chassell

WWJD?

“These are the times that try men’s souls” is the famous opening line from Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet, “The American Crisis.”

Today the United States is at a critical fork in the road. One path leads to a continuation of our republic as envisioned by our Founding Fathers while the other path leads to oppressive fascism.

What would Jesus do in our present crisis?

Would Jesus allow armed and masked ICE agents to brutally kidnap darker complexioned people that they suspect are undocumented immigrants?

No, Jesus would invoke the parable of the good Samaritan.

Would Jesus send some of them to excessively barbaric prisons?

No, Jesus experienced excessive brutality and would advocate forgiveness, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Would Jesus exact retribution on perceived enemies?

No, Jesus would point to Biblical passages that tell not to resort to revenge, but to love your enemies.

Would Jesus want to eliminate DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) from all aspects of our society?

No, Jesus would embrace DEI as an example of love for all humanity.

Would Jesus use high government office to accumulate vast wealth?

No, Jesus would remind us that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven (the needle refers to a low gate in a wall to enter a village).

Would Jesus call his perceived enemies nasty names?

No, of course not, he would call that immature and childish.

Would Jesus make large reductions or eliminate social services that help the poor and downtrodden, especially children? No, Jesus said “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” meaning that serving, feeding, clothing, visiting, or comforting the poor, needy, sick, or imprisoned is the same as doing it to Jesus himself, highlighting that acts of compassion towards the marginalized are acts of devotion to God, leading to eternal life.

Would Jesus bully other people or countries, or resort to obscenities and middle finger gestures?

No, this would be completely against his nature.

Would Jesus seek the happiness and flourishing of all humanity.

Yes, that’s the essence of his teachings.

Alas, we have a leader that acts in opposite ways to Jesus’s teaching. A leader whose life and actions are the antithesis of the life of Jesus; this is essentially anti-Christ (i.e., anti-Messiah). We deserve better.

David M. Keranen,

Bakersfield, CA, a former resident of the Copper Country.