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6A – Daily News – Saturday, September 11, 2010 Opinion Opinion, not D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 ignorance Editor: This is in response to the letter written by Anita Fishburn in the Sept. 4 edition. Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Sam and I had lunch the other day; he said we needed to do lunch rather than coffee because he was angry and wanted to vent to me and see what I thought. I wasn’t sure what he was upset about, but out of courtesy, I said fine. “You’ve had time since you’ve been home to look through all the Daily News editions while you were gone. Did you notice any- thing remarkable?” Sam asked. “Not too much,” I answered. “It seems to me most of what was in the paper was just a continuation of things that were going on when I left.” “That’s true, but did you see the picture on the front page on August 26th and the article about some guy named Sam something or other, the leader of the Gun Owners of California speaking on gun rights at the Trinity Landmark Missionary Church, a Baptist church? It bothered me he was named Sam also, but his presenta- tion at a Baptist church really offended me.” “Yes, I did, but it didn’t surprise me, and I didn’t pay much atten- tion to it. Tell me what bothered you.” “Well, I am a Baptist, and I trace my religious ancestry back to colonial times. My family came from pre-revolutionary Virginia, and we are proud of our heritage.” “Okay,” I said. “Let me tell you a true story. Between 1760 and 1778 in my ancestral state of Virginia there were more than 150 serious inci- dents of persecution by the state sanctioned religion against Baptist ministers who were just preaching without permission; 45 were jailed. They were subjected to tor- tuous acts such as beatings, tar and I am truly sorry that you met an idiot when you moved here. But I believe that is not the feeling of the majority of the people here. Most people feel there should be a peace- ful existence for people of different religions and races. I have several religious faiths in my own family. My sister in-lawis Jewish, best friend catholic, aunt baptist, cousins Jehovah's Witness and my brother is Seventh Day Adventist. You can meet up with the few ignorant big- ots anywhere in the world, not just in Red Bluff. But, the reality is that religious beliefs and the problems related to the festival have nothing to do with each other. You seem to be an amazing source of information on Hemp. Maybe you should have opened a booth up at the festival to show- case it's many uses. If you had, it would have lent some credit to the festival's name. Hemp and it's pur- posewas not the goal of this festi- val. There were a few hemp trinkets but not much more than pipes and other products related to the con- sumption of marijuana. Hemp products have nothing to do with the use of marijuana. Though the two plants are mem- bers of the same species, they are raised to achieve two very different ends. It should have been called the Medical Marijuana Festival. It was supposed to be a gathering to edu- cate people of the positive aspect of it's medicinal use. It didn't live up to that name either. There was very lit- tle, if any information being shared regarding this. And for the record. How do you know that Mr.Ismail is ignorant of the value of a product like hemp? You just made an assumption and ran with it. That seems pretty ignorant. As far as the town not wanting the Mystic Garden Party held here, that's untrue. The promoters were given the fairgrounds and took it upon themselves to decline this invitation and go elsewhere. It's not the counties problem if they reached out the olive branch and it was snapped it two. The organizer's should accept their responsibility in it's negative outcome. I don't think you understood the essence of Mr.Ismail's letter. The piece had nothing to do with reli- gion or bigotry. Nor did it have to do with hemp. The letter pertained to festivals in general being held in residential ares. Whether they focus on beer, wine, hemp or marijuana, a back yard is not the correct loca- tion. Functions of this type should be held in facilities that can accom- modate them and their visitors. This will result in a peaceful, less chaot- ic experience for all. The values Mr.Ismail spoke of are what most people strive to obtain. We make an effort to care about our neighbors and to realize the impact our actions/choices have on them. We don't partake in illegal activities. We raise our children to be drug free and productive. We teach them to uphold the law and to understand the importance of hav- ing them. We could go on forever in this discussion on the good and evil of marijuana, but the bottom line is this. The concerns of the people near the festival have not changed since the beginning. Most feel if that's the lifestyle you choose so be it. But don't shove it in my face. To answer your question, no we should not live in a bubble of con- tempt and ignorance. Anybody that believes that is a moron. Further- more, a person is not ignorant for having an opinion and voicing it. That is the very thing that makes our country so wonderful. Melissa Ismail, Red Bluff Indoctrination Your Turn Editor: Georgia Scott must have been smoking some of that hemp she wants to be legalized, because she made my argument, she being in the education field, about people being indoctrinated at a young age with misin- formation by sharing her information. She is most likely another proud graduate of our liberal-dominated education sys- tem. A system that more often than not will not allow conserva- tive students to set up a booth to recruit new members or pass out conservative literature, nor will they allow recruiters from the military on campus. However, any radical, includ- ing President Ahmadinejad of Iran, that wants to bad mouth the United State of America is given the red carpet treatment. I’ll just bet your great-grand- father is rolling over in his grave, how proud he must be of you. In case your informed group of educators doesn’t know, Iran treats homosexuals far worse than denying them a marriage license. Les Wolfe, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111;(415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224-0454. Sam the Baptist Commentary feathers, and rock throwing. The Reverend John Elder, a Baptist, was jailed in the fall of 1769 for preaching; when congregants gathered outside his cell to hear him preach from jail a barrier was erected to keep them away; when that didn’t work, a mob gathered outside his cell, and two of the mob stood on a bench so they could urinate through the bars onto his face. All this happened because he wasn’t an authorized preacher.” “I wasn’t aware of that,” I replied, “but what has that got to do with the article in the Daily News?” “Well, Baptists were one of the most ardent advocates for the sep- aration of church and state in both colonial times and during the framing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Like Quakers in Massachusetts they were seriously harassed by Virginia’s government supported religion and the govern- ment itself.” “Yes, I remember the state of Massachusetts supported the Con- gregational Church and even hanged Mary Dyer for persisting in teaching the Quaker way.” “Both states had an official reli- gion supported by the state or colonial governments; all people had to pay taxes to support that religion. At one point, Virginia forbad the immigration of Quak- ers, and many colonies did not allow Roman Catholics or Jews. Many colonies celebrated Pope Day when they would burn an effi- gy of the Pope.” “I didn’t know that. So what has that got to do with the picture and article in the paper?” “Two things, first, the picture showed a Baptist pulpit draped by a United States flag; my ancestors must be rolling over in their graves because a Baptist congregation allowed that to happen.” “Okay, so the local church turned their eyes to allow a public address in their sanctuary; what’s the big deal?” “Well, he was addressing a group of self-proclaimed patriots, and yet he invoked Jesus Christ, the Founding Fathers, and freedom to open his presentation, as if Jesus was concerned about the Second Amendment.” “Okay, Sam, so this “I guess not, but I cannot toler- ate draping a flag over a pulpit in America.” “You do not have to Joe Harrop guy was talking about gun rights in the home of the Prince of Peace; so he got a little carried away, but I think the Tehama County Patriots must have enough sense and under- standing to take all the flag and religion stuff with a grain of salt. Patriots know that during that meeting, they could just pretend they were in an auditorium, not a church. The speaker was just rail- ing against big government and gun control advocates. He didn’t realize he was countering the tide of our religious history when doing that. My guess is his appear- ance may have been self serving as well.” “You can say that, but if we are not careful we’ll be back to the same old bickering and chastising that characterized our early history when state religion controlled so much.” “Are you seriously suggesting we are headed toward state spon- sored religion and all the problems that accompany it.” like it Sam, but when our Founding Fathers referred to the inalien- able right of individual freedom of conscience, they surely knew, some weird things could hap- pen. We even allow the burning of the flag in some circumstances. We give permits to the KKK to march. It is just one of the prices we pay for our liberty. What we need to be able to do is work on dialogue, not ranting and raving. Why don’t you write a letter to the paper describing Baptist history in our country and its impact on creating the First Amendment? People might respect what you have to say.” “I really don’t have time. Besides, it helped me being able to talk to you.” I went home and fact checked what Sam had said, and found his claims to be true; I was surprised about the religious intolerance in our early years. I can understand Sam’s frustration, but the citizenry not having time to contribute to a dialogue about issues is also a problem. Venting and feeling anger will not solve issues or improve our democracy. If we don’t take the time to participate things will not improve. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State.He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.