[Vision2020] Flags, slavery and intolerance within our community

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of the Letters section of today's (July 21, 2015) Moscow-Pullman Daily News  with a note of thanks to Bill McKee of the Daily News Editorial Board.

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Our View: Flags, slavery and intolerance within our community
By Bill McKee
Flags and slavery have been in the news a lot lately.
First there was the discussion about the Confederate flag, which was removed from the South Carolina Capitol some weeks ago - a decision sparked by photos of a disturbed young man who later went on to allegedly take the lives of nine African Americans at a church in Charleston, S.C.
That story turned into a nationwide discussion over the meaning of the Confederate flag. Do the negative implications - that whole pro-slavery aspect at the heart of the South's attempt to succeed from the Union - outweigh the history it represents to those who grew up with it as a symbol of their heritage?
The Confederate flag made another appearance over the weekend on South Carolina's Statehouse steps during a KKK rally, which generally confirmed to everyone they'd made the right choice in its removal.
Another discussion began locally after we ran a front page story that included a photograph of Christ Church pastor Doug Wilson standing atop an LGBT flag. Many have wondered why we would run a story focusing on one man's specious views regarding slavery and homosexuality in such a prominent spot in our paper.
"Sodomy is a particularly virulent form of slavery to sin, and slavery to sin is the foundation stone of every other form of objectionable slavery," Wilson wrote in a recent post on his blog, "Blog and Mablog: Theology that Bites Back," after stating that supporting same-sex marriage is a "far more serious problem" than supporting slavery.
Just to clarify - we don't think Wilson's views reflect those of the Christian community at large, nor do we agree with them. And frankly, the decision to run the story at the top of Page One did raise some eyebrows in our newsroom as well.
When we originally broke the story in May that three of the board members at the Moscow Food Co-op were members of his church, we received numerous emails, letters to the editor and Facebook posts from locals - some appalled at the news, others defending Wilson's views.
In the end, it was that interest, expressed by so many of our readers, that led to our choice to run last week's story.
We understand some were offended by his views, and the image that went along with the story, but since then the letters, emails and posts have continued to roll in.
We believe that means the discussion should go on.
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Thanks again, Mr. McKee, for putting your cards on the proverbial table.

As one of my favorite songs of all time suggests . . .

"Let It All Hang Out"
http://www.tomandrodna.com/Songs/Let_It_All_Hang_Out.mp3

Stay tuned, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom "Free to be you and me" Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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