Letter Of The Day

God's is a stronger voice

By ANDREW SEVERSON, Garner

An American is supposed to be patriotic and loyal to his country. We elect our government officials to stand for what is right and just.

When it comes to patriotism, I am a failure as an American. I stand for my morals and my faith, not for whatever I am told to believe. Many Christians are fighting, suffering and dying in battle. Why? The president believes it is what must be done to help other countries and our own find a better tomorrow. War is the answer. What stronger voice in the country is there than the commander in chief?

To that, I answer God. Is not a commandment "Thou shall not kill"? Does it mention it is OK as long as both houses of the federal government as well as the president say so? Do the commandments also not tell us to love our neighbor? Not one verse says to bomb thy neighbor and change their culture to fit the current times.

We toss out our values as people and replace them with the values of our country to show loyalty. We tell our children to solve problems without violence as their relatives are off shooting strangers. We honor Martin Luther King Jr. for his nonviolent protests. He showed that America can change without death. We see him as a leader and then ignore his message as we send out troops to another country to overthrow a leader.

King showed there are other answers than war. If Americans look back and decide we were not right and entered a war wrongfully, can our country forgive ourselves for killing so many innocent people that did not deserve to die? To enter war is to admit the weakness of the human mind and soul.

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