Opinion
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Ominous implications
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Published: November 25, 2009
It is hard to know whether the author of the letter "Pray for Obama" (Nov. 18) is oblivious to its implications or very cynical in his statement: "Barack Obama is our president and I do pray for him to succeed..." For he cites Psalm 109:8, which reads, "May his days be few, and let another take his office."
This verse does not spell "success" for this president. And verse 9 states, "May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow." Verse 10: "May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit."
This suggests a very inflammatory prayer for all the "Christians" who already carry a grudge against our Democratic and fairly and lawfully elected president. And the detrimental curse uttered in this song would be devastating to the well-being of our United States.
I do not want to see the White House in ruins, the president assassinated, his wife a widow and his children begging. This "call for prayer" -- and I've seen the verse on bumper stickers in Winston-Salem -- translates for many into a call for murder.
It only takes one misguided, confused individual, as history has shown repeatedly. And who will claim responsibility then?
The watchdog organization The Southern Poverty Law Center lists 30 hate groups in North Carolina alone. Do we as Americans really want to risk another homegrown terror attack by standing by complacently in the face of these seemingly harmless calls for "prayer"?
CHRISTA JONES
Winston-Salem
Doesn't endorse prayer
This is in response to the Nov. 18 letter "Pray for Obama," whose writer exhorts us to "pray for President Obama. Psalm 109:8." For those unfamiliar with the Biblical reference, it reads: "Let his days be few; and let another take his office."
Before giving the writer the benefit of the doubt, consider the next verse of the Psalm, which reads: "May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow."
The letter doesn't endorse prayer. It offers a tacit endorsement for people who would physically harm the president. This kind of thinking and the articulation of it are well beyond inappropriate. It is dangerous. It deserves unfettered condemnation.
Civics 101: One of the enduring legacies of the Founding Fathers was the establishment of a system designed to permit vigorous debate within a stable political framework. Consistent with this, people who dislike and/or condemn President Obama and his policies are well advised to work within established legal and political channels. Inviting violence -- directly or indirectly -- is not just counterproductive, it is antithetical to fundamental American principles. Neither, for that matter, does it seem particularly Christian.
ROBERT S. PIERCE
Winston-Salem
Life is not replaceable
Rep. Virginia Foxx said, "I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country" ("Foxx, again," Nov. 6). This is a statement from our elected official in Washington.
Why is all this fear being generated? Would we prefer local hospitals to go unpaid and potentially belly up? Foxx should fear the alternative. With 10 percent unemployment, uninsured folks have one alternative, and that is to just show up at hospitals and hope they receive care.
Then the other fear is what size bill they could end up with. God forbid they lose their life savings and homes to pay for their lives.
People are required to have car insurance; why not health insurance? Personally, I'd rather insure my health than my auto. I can always get a new car, but my life is not as replaceable.
Fear not; the small impact it will have on the employed is minor, if any. Let's pray that the non-supporters never need health-care coverage for a catastrophic life-changing health event.
I would ask Foxx and her supporters to consider the pros and cons of health-care reform, and to reach out to others who have no insurance, and address their fears as folks did when Social Security and unemployment compensation were adopted in 1935.
LAURA J. YOUNG
Winston-Salem
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