3/31/2024
My Dear POTUS, JRB,
As you know some folks are sensationalizing the coincidence of Transgender Visibility Day & Easter, saying stuff like you “betrayed the central tenet of Easter” & “are mock(ing) their faith & thumb(ing) your nose at God.” Please forgive them for using religion as a divisive tool. They are misguided.
Perhaps we can just stop designating distinct days for this & that, & instead, embrace the Quaker idea that every day is a special day.
What do you think of the Khalistan referendum being held in Sacto today? Do you think an independent state for Sikhs is the way to go?
The plight of the folks in Northern India who feel that Modi is persecuting them troubles me, but, like our founders, I am not a fan of mixing up religion with government. Wouldn’t we all be best off with small governing organizations that promote the public good & stay out of other aspects of citizens’ lives?
Segregating people according to their religions will not ensure the absence of religious strife. If free thinking is at the heart of democracy, new beliefs will pop up whenever people can come to their own conclusions about the meaning of life. Parents will always be worried that their children will be drawn away from them by some new way to make sense of this complicated world we inhabit. Some will follow charismatic folks. Others will be persuaded by philosophies that resonate with their experience. While some will be drawn by creative expressions of art, music & dance. Some will seek.
If we could divorce religion from governance, the junta could not prevent the Rohingya from being citizens. Modi’s Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), which specifies some religious groups as meriting special treatment, would be null & void. VVP could not jail Jehovah’s Witnesses for practicing their faith. Israel would be a totally different place.
God is change.
Seek & ye may find,
BYBS,
