by Will Walker, Hamilton
It is that time of the month again when we Bitterrooters bring the Culture War to our local newspapers, and spew hate and vitriol against people that we would normally consider our neighbors. Every time this feedback loop repeats, it seems to accomplish nothing but make the rhetoric more extreme and make the canyon between us deeper, and all the more treacherous.
It has gotten to a point where some of the opinion letters I read contain veiled threats of violence, written in such a way that the author could plausibly deny their intentions- but we all know what they really mean. Those who invest in millstones do not mean to grind grain.
Oh, only if they did. They take passages from the scripture, but they could not tell you what the book really means. Anyone who uses the name of Jesus to withhold love is not a true Christian. They have failed at the first and only step- to love thy neighbor as one loves God. Imagine how proud He would be of us if we donated flour at the same rate we castigate our fellow man.
I am tired of seeing the hate that some Bitterrooters have for the people they are supposed to love. I am sure that they are tired, too, from the effort of maintaining that hatred for so many parts of God’s Creation. Let us spread love instead; Christians, Jews, Muslims, all of us who believe in the divine, and all of us who do not. I do not know if there will be a God when I die, but I choose to live in respect and admiration for the world I occupy now.