East Bernard Express (East Bernard, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 23, 2012 Page: 4 of 10
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age 4 Thursday, August 23, 2012
East Bernard Express
Bill Wallace, Editor & Publisher
bwallace@journal-spectator.com
Keith Magee, Managing Editor
kmagee@journal-spectator.com
Burlon Parsons, Associate Editor
bparsons@journal-spectator.com
P.0. Box 111 • Wharton, Texas 77488 • 979-532-0095 • 979-532-8845 fax
Periodicals Postage Paid at East Bernard, Texas 77435. Annual
subscription price $29.00 per year in Wharton County, Eagle Lake and
Wallis; $39.00 per year elsewhere in Texas; $59.00 per year out of state.
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Letters welcomed
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Send to P.O. Box 111, Wharton, TX 77488.
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Send letters to LETTERS, P.O. Box 111, Wharton, TX 77488.
Politics and the church
A day never goes by without someone
on Facebook making a political statement,
and usually it is an argument for or against
Obama, or for or against Romney I think this
makes interesting read-
ing, and it seems to me
would be a reflection of a
healthy democracy Some
of my good friends contrib-
ute some lively political
discussions/arguments,
and, as the presidential
race heats up, the postings
grow stronger and more
Ray
Spitzenberger
Images
Cl
V.4
numerous.
It has been and is my custom to read all
political commentaries on Facebook, and, to
some extent elsewhere, but almost never to
respond to them. I say “almost” never, because
every now and then something will be written
that is so off-the-wall outrageous that I am
compelled to respond.
No doubt my reluctance to participate in
political debates harks back to my childhood
when my mother and one of my uncles by
marriage would get into very heated political
arguments that would last long into the night,
both of them raising their voices at each other,
and even shaking their fists. Many a fam-
ily gathering was ruined by their incessant
political arguments. My father always said
that neither one of them knew what they were
talking about. I never heard my father argue
with anyone, and I never heard him express a
political statement. I think I took after him.
The other reason for avoiding political
involvement has to do with my role as pastor
of a church. Both Democrats and Republicans
are members of my church, and I love my
members who are Democrats and my mem-
bers who are Republicans. There are pastors
who take sides and preach political sermons,
and of course offend those members who are
on the opposite side. I recall one pastor who
used to tell his members how they should vote.
These pastors argue that Christian leaders
have a moral responsibility to actively oppose
politicians who favor abortion, gay marriage
and other issues which the Bible speaks
against. There are other issues that are not
so clearly stated in Scripture, in fact, some,
not even implied, and they treat those as
absolutes, too. And there has been this kind of
threat raised at tax-exempt organizations like
churches, saying that they would have to start
paying taxes if they were involved in partisan
politics. Not sure how that rumor got started.
Actually the Internal Revenue Service
ruled in 2009 that pastors gathered together
for a series of public policy conferences did not
violate the political entan-
glement laws governing
its tax-exempt status. De-
spite charges of partisan
politics, the IRS investiga-
tion found no evidence of
political intervention. This
ruling emboldened some
pastors to be more politi-
cally active and to preach
more “political” sermons;
nothing, however, would motivate me to do
that, as it gets away from what being a pastor
is all about.
I have never had any desire to be involved
in politics, and I have never believed that
politicians can offer any real solutions for the
problems of this life. Yet, at the same time, I
do believe that to make a democracy work,
citizens have to choose and elect local, state,
and national leaders who look out for the best
interests of the people. And that means having
some involvement in politics.
It seemed somewhat ironic this week that
the lesson for my teenage boys’ Sunday School
class is “The Christian and Politics.” The les-
son promotes the idea that Christians should
not ignore politics, because often that same
Christian who ignores politics is the very
one who complains when ungodly laws are
passed. One article I read says that a pastor
will “prostitute” his church by aligning it with
a particular political party. Doing that means
replacing the Lamb of God with a donkey or
an elephant.
It is my opinion that God is in charge of,
and in control of, the universe, and He will
bless America. Just basing my personal reac-
tion to all of the political rhetoric posted on
Facebook, I would conclude it helps by putting
forth information, but in terms of changi ng my
mind about which candidate this independent
voter will vote for, it accomplishes nothing.
But keep the posts coming; at least they keep
Facebook from being boring!
Ray Spitzenberger serves as pastor of St.
Paul Lutheran Church in Wallis, after retiring
from Wharton County Junior College, where
he taught English and speech and served as
chairman of Communications and Fine Arts
for many years.
( SHARK )
A time for civil disobedience
Peter
Johnston
A Heritage
and a Hope
Years ago in the 1960s, I was first ex-
posed to the concept of civil disobedience
both through the news and through vari-
ous studies. Martin Luther King Jr. boldly,
rightly and honorably
disobeyed unjust laws and
paid the price through
incarceration.
Today we find ourselves
in the midst of less publi-
cized acts of civil disobe-
dience. But nonetheless,
like Martin Luther King
Jr., an organization called
Priests for Life is boldly,
rightly and honorably
disobeying the federal mandate to provide
health insurance as of Aug. 1 because it
would violate the consciences of members
of that organization.
Does Priests for Life have your support?
Do you understand why civil disobedi-
ence can be, though not always is, right
and honorable?
On Aug. 1, the day the health care man-
date took effect for organizations such as
Priests for Life, Fr. Frank Pavone, National
Director of the organization, stated:
“The unjust and unconstitutional HHS
mandate, against which Priests for Life and
57 other plaintiffs have sued the federal
government, takes effect today. We at Priests
for Life do not qualify for the year that the
government has offered certain groups to
‘adapt’ to the mandate. And we are not ‘reli-
gious’ enough for this Administration.
“But regardless of all that, we do not
adapt to injustice; we oppose it.
“Therefore today, on behalf of our organi-
zation and on behalf of myself personally, I
announce our conscientious objection to this
mandate.
“Priests for Life has the highest respect
for civil government and advocates the
observance of all just laws. But this policy
is unjust, and today I reaffirm our intention
to disobey it. ”
At 12:01 a.m. that morning, he issued
the following notice to staff and consultants
for the organization:
“The HHS mandate, about which we
have been educating people since January
and against which we have launched a
federal lawsuit, goes into effect for Priests
for Life today.
“Whether or not the government decides
to eventually impose fines on us when our
health insurance policy is renewed in a few
months is not the issue. The issue is that as
of today, as far as the government is con-
cerned, we have to provide health insur-
ance coverage for practices that are morally
objectionable.
“In order to avoid the slightest semblance
of scandal, or compromise of our principles,
and lest any employee should imagine that
v
■
'• V
we would ever consent to provide coverage
for actions that destroy human life, I want
to make it clear to you today that we will
disobey this mandate.
“Neither Priests for Life
as an organization, nor
any one of our adminis-
trative team or Board of
Directors, nor I personally,
consent to provide, pay for,
advocate, counsel, refer, or
in any way tolerate or co-
operate with any process,
plan, exchange of money
or services, or any other
activity that would enable
a person to engage in the use of abortion-
inducing drugs, contraception, or steriliza-
tion.
“We reaffirm that our mission is precisely
to eliminate abortion in every form, and we
reaffirm our trust in you that you share that
mission and are likewise offended by this
mandate. We will therefore stand together
in resisting it, and in our confidence that we
will prevail, by persevering in prayer and
action, in our lawsuit.”
I commend Fr. Pavone and the stand
that his Catholic organization is taking.
He and his organization are boldly, rightly
and honorably disobeying an unjust law in
the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr and
the 2009 Manhattan Declaration: A Call to
Christian Conscience. It states the “bibli-
cal purpose of law is to preserve order and
serve justice and the common good; yet
laws that are unjust—and especially laws
that purport to compel citizens to do what
is unjust — undermine the common good,
rather than serve it.”
Under such circumstances, it is just and
right, as Martin Luther King Jr. did in the
face of an unjust law contrary to a higher
law, to civilly disobey.
We are at a watershed in the history
and for the future of our nation. We need to
honor our government as it does right. We
need to pray for our government whether
it does right or wrong. We need to be
prepared for bold, right, and honorable
civil disobedience in certain circumstances
where a governmental wrong violates the
higher law just as Priests for Life is cur-
rently doing.
Contact me by email if you would like
further information on civil disobedience. I
will send you an electronic version of an ex-
cellent study written by one of my teachers
at the Colson Center, T.M. Moore, entitled
“When Not to Obey.”
Peter Johnston, an East Bernard resi-
dent, earned a history degree from Cornell
University and is a former high school his-
tory teacher. He can be reached at colum-
nist.peter.johnston@gmail.com.
Write to us!
Your letters to the editor give you
a voice in your community.
For complete information on publish-
ing policy, call the editor at
532-0095. Send letters to LETTERS,
P.O. Box 111, Wharton, TX 77488.
Your opinion matters to us, and to the
community. If you have something to add to the
community dialogue please write to the editor
and we will publish your letter.
All letters are subject to editing. This column is
intended for opinions, not as a bulletin board of
news events or thank-you notes. All letters must
be signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will
not be considered for publication. Please include
an address and telephone number (they will not
be printed).
Texas once prided self on voting availability
Over the past half-century,
Texas has gone from one of the most
restrictive states for voter access
to one of the most accessible. The
so-called Voter ID law passed by the
Texas Legislature in 2011 would
reverse that.
Backers say requiring showing a
government-issued photo identifica-
tion to vote is vital, so voters prove
their identities.
Opponents say it’s a thinly veiled
effort to suppress voting by blacks,
browns, the poor and the young. De-
spite investigations Texas Atty. Gen.
Greg Abbott, and a national review,
the evidence of people faking their
identity at a polling place is incred-
ibly rare.
U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder,
speaking to a convention of the Na-
tional Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People (NAACP) in
Houston in mid-July, said the Texas
voter ID laws are purposely de-
signed to suppress voting by minori-
ties and the poor.
‘We call these poll taxes,”
Holder said. He was referring to
the post-slavery device in the South
to require paying a tax in order to
vote — designed to discourage black
voters.
Holder said while 8 percent of
whites don’t have photo IDs, the
percentage among blacks, browns
and the poor is triple that.
Also, millions live more than 10
miles from the nearest place to get
a government-issued photo ID, and
many would “struggle” to pay for the
required paperwork, Holder said.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry used
Holder’s comment a few days
later to blast Democratic President
Barack Obama during a brief Texas
fundraising trip.
“Perhaps while the president
is visiting Texas, he can take a
break from big-dollar fundraisers
to disavow his Attorney General’s
offensive and incendiary comments
regarding our common-sense voter
identification law,” Perry said in a
statement.
“In labeling the Texas voter ID
law as a ‘poll tax,’ Eric Holder pur-
posefully used language designed to
inflame passions and incite racial
tension,” Perry declared, feigning
anger. “It was not only inappropri-
ate, but simply incorrect on its face.
“The president should apologize
for Holder’s imprudent remarks and
for his insulting lawsuit against the
people of Texas,” Perry declared.
So, the president fell to his knees
and begged forgiveness, right?
Dream on.
Some background on why Holder
compared Voter ID laws to the poll
tax: In the wake of the Civil War and
the end of Reconstruction, southern
states — including Texas — insti-
tuted a series of laws and practices
to make it difficult, or impossible, for
Dave
McNeely
Texas Politics
blacks to vote:
• Literacy tests — one wrong
answer, you can’t vote.
• White Primaries — in which
only whites can vote.
• The poll tax — a sometimes
hefty fee to register to vote.
• Early voter registration dead-
lines — several months before an
election — to catch unsophisticated
would-be voters off guard until it
was too late.
Gradually, all of those were
outlawed by federal courts, the 24th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
outlawing the poll tax, and changes
in federal and state law.
Over the past few decades, Texas
has:
• Reduced the voter registration
deadline from several months before
the next election to 30 days.
• Shortened the time to establish
voting eligibility for people new to
Texas to 30 days.
• Allowed college students to vote
where they go to school, rather than
being required to vote in their home
towns.
• Reduced the voting age from 21
to 18.
• Established “Motor Voter” —
easy voter registration while getting
or renewing a driver’s license.
• Established early voting, so peo-
ple can vote for several days before
election day without having to swear
they’d be gone on election day.
That most of the Voter ID propo-
nents are Republican, and oppo-
nents Democratic, is no coincidence.
This is less than about a “remedy”
for a wave of voter fraud through
fake identities than it is about parti-
san power.
The Texas-passed law is currently
under court challenge in federal
court, on grounds that it violates the
federal Voting Rights Act.
Democratic critics say that the
real purpose of the Republican-
driven laws are to make it as tough
as possible for people — particularly
brown and black voters, who tend
to vote Democratic — to vote. They
say it is a crass Republican plot to
discourage turnout by Democratic-
leaning voters.
Cited as evidence of the true
Republican partisan voter suppres-
sion goal of Voter ID laws is this
statement from Mike Turzai, leader
of the Republicans in swing-state
Pennsylvania, about Republican
Mitt Romney’s challenge to Obama.
Speaking to a group of fellow
state Republicans about accomplish-
ments by the Republican-controlled
legislature, Turzai included ‘Voter
ID — which is going to allow
(Republican presidential nominee)
Governor (Mitt) Romney to win the
state of Pennsylvania — done.”
In the short term, Texas is so Red
— Republican — it’s by no means a
swing state in the 2012 presidential
election. But, the long-term mo-
tive — to maximize Republican vote
and minimize Democratic — is no
different.
Contact Dave McNeely at dav-
emcneelylll@gmail.com or 512-458-
2963.
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Wallace, Bill. East Bernard Express (East Bernard, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 23, 2012, newspaper, August 23, 2012; East Bernard, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth787407/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Wharton County Library.