Letter to the Editor

Editor:
22 year old Mahsa Amini was recently arrested and killed by the Iranian Morality Police because her head covering wasn’t tightly secured. In Iran, church and state are tightly linked. The country’s constitution states all laws must be based on “Islamic criteria.” One law is that women must wear a hijab.

It’s easy to see that some governments use religious dogma to justify absolute control (and the accompanying loss of freedom) over the population. Such governments insist their decrees are direct words from God (or Allah), believing this somehow legitimizes their repressive politics.

“God and guns got us here! God and guns will keep us here!” proclaims PA Representative Stephanie Borowicz from her pulpit at Harrisburg’s Capitol.

“(Congress must) disregard the certified election results (for Pennsylvania) in Jesus’ name, Amen!” said GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaking at an event organized by far right Christian nationalists hoping to reinstall Donald Trump as President.

See what they’re doing? They’re using Christianity as a public relations tool to enforce a political agenda–in the first case to push an anti-gun safety platform, and in the second, to call into question the results of a free and fair election.

Other policies they advocate include forced childbearing, even when delivery endangers a woman’s life or forces a little girl to bear her father’s child. “I don’t give way for exceptions,” declares Mastriano.

Then there’s their desire to withdraw funding for public schools (where evangelical indoctrination isn’t the norm) and to ban school and library books they deem objectionable because they address sexuality, the history of discrimination against marginalized Americans and other topics they don’t want voters to contemplate.

To make sure this all comes about, they’re openly planning to deny our elections’ legitimacy if voters don’t choose Republican candidates. Mastriano actively sought to overturn the 2020 election results and recently refused to answer the Washington Post when asked whether he would accept the results of this November’s election.

These and other draconian, freedom-starving policies will have us all running from the American Morality Police.

Pamela J Dillett
Lock Haven, PA