Dear Editor: My letter (We’re Indebted to Liberals, Feb. 6) has certainly opened up an interesting exchange of varying opinions and I thank The Tablet for facilitating this forum. I do not wish to continue this interchange ad nauseum, but I feel compelled to address some of the respondents’ comments.
The basic Christian message is both politicized and lost in the ideological rhetoric. I take issue with the following claims made by the writers in the Feb. 20 issue:
• Liberals spend everyone else’s money but their own.
• Pro-life conservatives outspend liberals in personal aid to the poor in demographic margins of 10-1.
• Global warming is an absolute fraud.
• The poor cannot be helped unless the country has a strong military, secure borders and no sanctuary cities.
• Liberals’ bungling attempts at reforms have increased human misery.
I am not familiar with statistical accuracy of the first two statements. However, I know plenty of people of all political persuasions who have given most generously to the poor.
Climate change is endorsed by leading scientific organizations. Denying it dismisses our responsibility to people who live in areas afflicted by this phenomenon. Our biblical mandate as Christians is to seek justice and rescue the oppressed.
Building a strong military and securing our borders to the exclusion of sanctuary cities should not take precedence over protecting endangered fellow human beings. Neither should we be indifferent to the plight of the suffering refugees flooding across the Mediterranean seeking sanctuary.
While some liberal reforms may have fallen short of desired goals, programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP and the GI Bill have helped generations of Americans. Yes, even the Affordable Care Act, with its flaws, has provided medical insurance to 17 million Americans thus far.
We are challenged by our Creator to love our fellow human beings and to work together as Christian conservatives and liberals to solve social ills, especially in this Year of Mercy.
MARY GERAGHTY
Windsor Terrace
