Letters: Trump’s alleged comments about veterans are offensive; Single-issue voting is shortsighted
Trump’s ‘loser’ comments offensive
I am deeply offended and hurt by President Donald Trump’s many, well-documented statements naming U.S. veterans as “losers” and “suckers,” and, more pointedly, war amputees as people “no one wants to see. ...”
During WWII, my father was a navigator/bombardier in a B17 Flying Fortress. On his 23rd mission, his plane, the lead plane, was shot down over Austria. Before evacuating the plane, my father was hit badly in the back and leg with shrapnel. Bleeding and woozy, he continued his mission and dropped his bombs on target. My father lost his right leg, and was missing in action for a year, but finally made it home to enjoy a long, successful life in State College. Some may still remember my father, Ross Lehman, who became the executive director of the Alumni Association at Penn State. He and my mother, Katey Lehman, also wrote a daily editorial column for the Centre Daily Times for over 20 years, called “Open House.”
Trump’s attitude toward men and women in the armed forces speaks clearly to his utter contempt for anyone in life who is motivated by something higher and purer than personal or monetary gain. This attitude exemplifies the entirety of his contempt for all people. Can a man such as this continue to represent our country in the world?
Single-issue voting is shortsighted
In “Catholics have a moral obligation when voting,” Ms. McMonagle neglected to accurately describe the expectations of the Church regarding the sanctity of all human life.
John Gehring, in “The Francis Effect: A Radical Pope’s Challenge to the American Catholic Church,” wrote the following of Pope Francis’ view of the moral teaching of the Catholic Church in 2020.
“… the priorities of Francis have shifted the Catholic political narrative … (to) challenge the distorted idea that a single issue defines what it means to be ‘pro-life.’ He insists that economic inequality, climate change and policies that separate immigrant families threaten the sanctity of life, and he further describes the lives of the poor and ‘those already born’ as ‘equally sacred’ as life in the womb. After the death of George Floyd, Francis said, ‘We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.’”
Voting with an informed conscience requires us to critically evaluate the character of every candidate with a keen eye on their records, their beliefs, how they behave, how they respond to the needs of the people and those most vulnerable.
Voting for any candidate based on a single moral issue is horribly shortsighted and lacks the full understanding of the moral responsibility of the vote. This election cycle is a moral imperative for all Americans. Critically examine what both presidential candidates represent and don’t be a single issue voter.
A good Catholic would vote for Biden
Linda MacMonigle insists that Catholics must vote for Donald Trump in November because he opposes abortion. Not true! In fact, Catholics as prominent as Fr. James Martin, the editor of the Jesuit magazine America, believe that Joseph Biden is closer to the Church than Trump, both in his faith and in most of his policies.
Biden is pro-life in the largest sense: he supports health care, family stability, safe workplaces, real living wages, food, shelter and good education for everyone, whatever their income. These are the rights that Pope Francis asserts in his 2018 Call to Holiness. The pope is certainly concerned about abortion, but he says, “Equally sacred … are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.” He is truly pro-life.
The only life President Trump values is his own.
A good Catholic will vote for another good Catholic — Joe Biden.