TNT letters to the editor, 9/4/2021

Religious liberty

Re: “Tacoma pediatrician: We can promote COVID vaccine without sacrificing religious liberty,” (TNT op-ed, 9/1).

I’m responding to Dr. Lisa Friesema’s opinion as to the sanctity of “religious freedom” in the midst of a pandemic not as a constitutional lawyer, but as a Lutheran pastor (retired).

I address what she calls “individual religious liberty.” I believe the good doctor does not understand that religion is not a personal predilection, not a private feeling or whim, but a corporate teaching and practice.

For example, a Lutheran could not argue that his or her beliefs preclude vaccination. That is not a Lutheran teaching; indeed, we teach that loving one’s neighbor as oneself obliges one to be vaccinated.

Individual emotions and private prejudices are not a religion.

Glenn C. Petersen, University Place

Religious liberty

Re: “Tacoma pediatrician: We can promote COVID vaccine without sacrificing religious liberty,” (TNT op-ed, 9/1).

Competent adults may refuse medical treatment, but that right ends where it impinges on another’s equal right not to be harmed by the refusal.

Infectious diseases are different from cancer; they infect and affect many others.

Vaccine refusers don’t have the right to endanger others by their own moral negligence. Quoting Thomas Jefferson, as Dr. Friesema did: “No man…shall suffer on account of religious opinions or belief”.

Breck Lebegue, Steilacoom

(Lebegue is a psychiatrist practicing in the South Sound)

Afghanistan nation-building

When will we ever learn that we cannot take our strong military into other countries and change them into our democratic image?

The success of doing this in Europe, especially Germany after World War II, cannot be repeated in countries with totally different religious and cultural norms from ours – specifically, Iraq and now Afghanistan.

It takes more than just a powerful military.

Our military should exist to defend us; forget nation building. We have a hard enough time building America into a cohesive, united country.

This is so obvious right now as COVID-19 surges again.

Karin Morris, Tacoma

Police reform

Law enforcement organizations are spreading unfounded assertions about the new police accountability laws passed by the Legislature in 2021.

Olympia’s interim police chief, Aaron Jelcick, recently said that under House Bill 1310, officers can only respond to calls reporting crimes, not calls requesting wellness checks or other “community caretaking” calls.

A memo by the Washington Attorney General’s office contradicts this assertion. “Nothing in the statute’s plain language indicates that specifying permissible uses of force prohibits an officer from responding to community caretaking calls.”

Some law enforcement officers have stated they cannot pursue a suspect fleeing the scene of a crime. Not true. The new standard is that they must have probable cause, not just a suspicion or the person matching the description of the suspect.

It ‘s important to note that although these bills were signed by the governor on May 18, the effective date was not until July 25. The new laws are being blamed for a rise in crime that’s more likely due to the pandemic.

Election yard signs

I was dismayed to see election signs for Tacoma School Board candidate Sarah Hendrix, which brand her campaign with the slogan: “Education not indoctrination.”

This is the national battle cry against teaching how issues of race are structurally embedded in society.

What made it especially significant for me was when our nine-year-old granddaughter recently surprised us by asking who Jim Crow was and why people wear blackface.

That led to watching some history videos and having some very thought-provoking conversation with her about other issues she had heard of and was pondering. We know more conversations are coming.

At every turn in US history, slavery and race have played a central part. Now, the suggestion that the truth be taught about the role of systemic and institutional racism is being met with a drive to whitewash and deny it.

When we teach our young people, we must prepare them to deal with core issues so that one day we can live up to who we like to think we are.

While Hendrix broadcasts resistance to teaching the truth about racial and equity issues, I happen to know a nine-year-old who can handle it and has more questions.

Paul Birkey, Tacoma

This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 8:46 AM with the headline "TNT letters to the editor, 9/4/2021."