May 26, 2009 02:15 pm
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President Obama, responding to critics at Notre Dame, pulled out an old liberal cliche: “Open hearts. Open minds.”
The quote has value. As society, culture and even our understanding of faith and morals develop in time, we should maintain an open heart and mind to the possibility of growth. Society and culture advance and faith deepens with the help of fresh perspectives, new insights and a willingness to consider their possibilities.
However, maintaining an open heart and mind does not mean anything goes. It seems that when liberal proposals, such as gay marriage or legalized abortion, are criticized or rejected, the critics are rashly labeled as “heartless” and “closed- minded.”
Simply because a liberal makes a proposal does not mean that proposal should be automatically and universally accepted as true and good. The proposal must stand up to the test of critics to discover if it has merit and can be something for the advancement of society and culture. It sometimes happens that a new proposal will fail the test when up against pre-existing and universally accepted moral norms.
So gay marriage and legalized abortion, no matter how you propose them, will always be considered intrinsic evils and must therefore be rejected. It is not a closed-mind position, but an acceptance of standing moral norms, which do not go away or are altered with each new proposal.
Rev. Leo F. Arnone
Pastor, St. Clare of Assisi
Roman Catholic Church
Johnstown
Congress must do right by workers
I was fortunate to be a part of the roundtable discussion on the Employee Free Choice Act held at the United Steelworkers headquarters recently. I represented the Sierra Club.
The club’s view is that the best way to a clean, healthy future is to provide green jobs that give working families fair wages, health care and the security of the middle class. The Employee Free Choice Act is the best avenue to achieve this goal.
Representatives from the faith community, local unions, educational institutions and government were in attendance.
Many groups gave their input, but there was one overriding theme – the playing field is not equal – has not been equal – for quite some time. I was moved by the stories of workers who were intimidated, harassed or fired while trying to form unions. Companies guilty of these infractions received slaps on the wrists. (The one exception was the Gamesa workers who related the neutral position their company took on the formation of a union – one that they think should be accorded all workers.)
The free choice act would let the workers decide whether to form a union by signing a card, or holding an election if the workers so choose. This puts the decision clearly in the hands of the workers – not the company or the union.
The Sierra Club calls on Sen. Arlen Specter and all members of Congress to do the right thing for workers and the environment and pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
Karlice Makuchan
Johnstown
Free Choice Act will return democracy
I participated in a roundtable discussion with Johnstown-area labor, community and religious leaders about the future of workers’ rights in this country. I was glad to see a representative from Sen. Arlen Specter’s office in attendance.
As an employee of Gamesa Corp., I’m lucky that my employer recognized the rights of its employees to organize and collectively bargain. Two years ago, when the majority of employees signed cards to become members of the United Steelworkers, Gamesa recognized the union as the bargaining agent for its workers.
But we’re in a minority. Too often, when workers try to form a union, they are routinely harassed and intimidated by their bosses.
A study released May 20 by Cornell University professor Kate Brofenbrenner highlights the abuses workers face when they try to form a union in their workplaces. According to the findings, employers threatened to close the plant in 57 percent of elections, discharge workers in 34 percent and threatened to cut wages and benefits in 47 percent.
Upsetting statistics such as these are why we need Specter to support the Employee Free Choice Act – a critical piece of legislation that would restore the rights of workers to decide how to form a union – free from employer intimidation – into law.
Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act will usher in a new era of democracy in the workplace.
Troy Galloway
Hollsopple
Never take our freedoms for granted
In today’s hurried and rushed world, let us not forget nor take for granted the freedoms that we enjoy that were fought for, won and preserved by those who paid the ultimate price.
Thank a veteran for his or her service through an act of kindness. Freedom is not free. God bless our grand county, it’s Constitution and those who fight to preserve our freedoms. May the stars and stripes of the red, white and blue forever wave for the sake of democracy.
Lonnie Rietscha
Johnstown
Obama’s ‘change’ has wreaked havoc
Several articles in the past month insisted that we give President Obama a chance.
But here are some points to ponder:
* President George W. Bush was condemned for his $7 trillion budget deficit, yet Obama’s budget will lead to a $23 trillion deficit over the next years.
* Not only does Obama favor amnesty for all illegal aliens, he favors retroactive Social Security for them.
* Obama favors expanded welfare and unlimited eligibility.
* Obama favors expanded funding for education while eliminating performance standards and accountability.
* Obama favors a national health-care plan and government controls on drug companies, which will decrease the quality of care and decrease research for new drugs.
* Under Obama, unemployment has reached a 25-year high with numbers increasing every month. Note that in 2000-06, America had its highest employment numbers in history as well as the highest numbers on Wall Street. The current recession actually began in 2006 when the Democrats took control of Congress. Now, with a Democratic president, the working man will certainly pay higher taxes on everything while the ranks of those who refuse to work and pay taxes will also rise. People, this is socialism.
* Finally, do you really favor a proposal by some Democrats to reintroduce the military draft?
Give Obama a chance? If he isn’t stopped, the America we all know will be gone forever. Government controls of every aspect of life didn’t’ work in Europe in the early 20th century, and it won’t work now.
John Skubak
Johnstown
Misconceptions over sexual orientation
A recent letter “in defense of traditional marriage” contained a number of factual errors that should be cleared up: The suggestion that homosexuals are not born that way is contrary to direct experience.
Every gay person has a story about his or her painful journey toward self-acceptance. Telling them they chose to be gay dismisses both their pain and triumph.
Researchers disagree on the question of how, not whether, people are born gay.
Jesus made no mention of homosexuality in any of the four Gospels. All of the New Testament references to same-sex desire are from the epistles of St. Paul.
Groups such as Exodus-International make broad claims about being able to cure homosexuality, but they refuse to provide any data to support that claim. Independent studies have found that only 15 percent of subjects reported they have been “converted.”
Schoolchildren in the four states that recognize same-sex unions are not “indoctrinated” into gay sex techniques. In fact, Massachusetts doesn’t even mandate sex education in its public schools.
There is no federal hate-crime law that covers sexual orientation. Thirty-two states include sexual orientation in their hate-crimes laws. Pennsylvania is not one of them.
In 2007, the FBI reported 1,460 hate crimes based on sexual orientation. That figure has risen steadily every year.
No one has ever been convicted of a hate crime on the basis of speech alone, much less for speaking out against same-sex marriage.
David W. Fox
Johnstown
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