14 www.minorityreporter.net |JANUARY 6 - 12 | 2014
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those
of the author and do not necessarily represent the
position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.
OPINION/EDITORIAL
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…
True Intolerance
For my last
column
of
2013, I have
decided to dive
into a topic that
has just come
up within the
last two weeks.
It is regarding
statements
made by the
star of the
reality
show
than even those who have taken lives
through terrorist acts.
I have never seen the show, and most
likely never will. However, I am going
to come to the defense of the man
who is at the center of the controversy,
and make the case that what he and
all Christians who believe in the bible
face is true intolerance.
God loves the homosexual, He loves
the adulterer and He loves the
abortionists.
In our society, everything is ok to say
and do unless you are a Christian who
truly believes what the bible says. If you
are a “Christian” who wants to commit
adultery, practice homosexuality or
support abortion, you are good to go,
and fit right into the society that calls
itself tolerant.
For a society that tries to say it is
tolerant of people’s views, the truth
is that this only holds true to those
who hold views consistent with
liberals. This nation has been founded
upon Christian principles, and those
principles are being eroded in the
name of tolerance while the very core
of what made our nation great is being
dismissed.
C. MICHAEL VAUGHN
“Duck Dynasty.”
However, if you believe the bible, and
do your best to follow what the word
of God says, you are more persecuted
I believe that an endangered species in
America is the bible-believing Christian.
Those who believe homosexuality is a
sin that will cause someone to end up
in hell, right next to the adulterer, and
those killing innocent babies, unless
they repent.
It is not that homosexuality has been
singled out; it is just the subject of
what got Mr. Robertson into trouble.
However, He hates the sin of
homosexuality, the sin of adultery and
the sin of abortion.
Those who read the comments of
Mr. Robertson closely would see that
1) the views he expressed were his
personal views, 2) they were done at
a time when he was not “working”
for the network where the reality
show airs, and, 3) he did not demean
homosexuals, he just pointed out what
the bible says.
It is a sad day in our nation when
the personal views a man shares
on his own time are enough to get
him dismissed from his job. That is
the height of intolerance. What if a
practicing homosexual working for
a Christian organization provided
comments for a magazine on his own
time, and that Christian organization
put him on suspension for his views?
we have as a right to speak it, is taken
away!
We must not put our heads in the
sand; there is a well-coordinated plan
being formulated to silence Christians.
We have to remain vigilant, or we will
wake up one day and all bible-believing
Christians will find themselves like
Mr. Robertson, dismissed because he
dared to not only believe the word of
God, but also to speak it!
As I said in the beginning, I have never
seen “Duck Dynasty,” but I have heard
the comments of Mr. Robertson, and I
stand with him as a Christian who will
not be silenced in the face of a false
tolerance purported by our society.
There would be protests, the media
would completely denigrate that
Christian organization, and President
Obama might even go on television to
say something about it. The reaction
would not be the same.
We must stand up when an injustice is
done, and what is being done to this
man is just the beginning. If we allow
it to occur, only God knows what the
“tolerant” society will not tolerate
from Christians!
Therefore, it leaves one to conclude
that, we live in a nation which has
become (or is trying to become) one
that is tolerant of every viewpoint,
except Christianity. As Christians,
we’re going to have to be very vocal
about our beliefs before the very
gospel we preach, and the free speech
-------------------If you would like to contact me, please
email me at mvaughn.seniorpastor@
newwineskin.org
STRAIGHT…NO CHASER
What does “private” mean to you?
The only people
who
are
not
proud of the
accomplishments
of our mayor-elect
Lovely
Warren,
Esq. are people
who have never
met her, people
who are color
blind, or people
GLORIA WINSTON AL-SARAG who are just haters
who hate for the sake of hating.
has walked with Lovely or supported
her over the years is no doubt smiling
as much as I am.
In fact, anyone who knows Lovely
knows she is not only capable of sitting
in the executive chair at City Hall, she
is more than worthy and deserving.
When I was asked to be a part of the
mayor-elect’s hand-picked inaugural
committee, I felt honored as well.
And, when I take a moment to examine
where she came from, I also take the
time to consider that, come Jan. 1, she
is going to be sworn in as Rochester’s
first female mayor who happens to be
black.
I have to admit, I do find myself
sticking my chest out and grinning like
I did something. But, although I didn’t
do anything special, just being part of
such a historical journey does make me
proud to know her. And anyone who
Recently, when she called to tell me she
had been invited to the White House
to meet with the president, Barack
Obama, I literally screamed with joy.
Of course she swore me to secrecy,
and that was one of the hardest things
I have ever had to do because, as a
journalist, it was extremely difficult
not to tell the world and write about it.
Jeremy Cooney and Lydia BoddieRice are inaugural committee cochairs who are working closely with
Chris Christopher, the mayor-elect’s
communications director and media
person.
It is always nice to know that some
people respect what you bring to the
table. Personally, I think I mastered
event planning decades ago (stroking
self).
In addition, my duties to date include
having worked closely with playwright
Jerry Capers. So, in essence, I have
contributed to the framework of
the public program. I have also been
asked by Mary McClary-Hill, the
mayor-elect’s aunt, to assist her in the
planning of the private ceremony.
On Sunday Jan. 5, the public is also
invited to attend the Community
Interfaith Worship Service at 2 p.m. in
the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Flower
City Park. Please invite others to attend
this event as well.
The family has been charged with the
overall planning of this event, and that
is a good thing, because the games
people want to play in this community
are unreal.
Special thanks to Bishop Gregory
Parris and Rev. Marvin McMickle for
coordinating faith leaders from across
the community to offer words of
encouragement and blessings to our
new mayor, and the people of our city.
And, for those who do not know, the
events planned for the inaugural begin
with a private ceremony January 1,
2014, followed by a public swearingin to take place Saturday, January 4,
2014, at 12 p.m. in the Auditorium
Theater.
The public is invited, welcome and
encouraged to attend this event.
And, the good news is that you can
bring as many friends as you like to
the public ceremony on Jan. 4. Lovely
will be delivering her major inaugural
address, and I know people will not
want to miss it. The inauguration
ceremony will also be broadcast live
on YNN and City12 news.
Finally, the aforementioned brings
me to the point of why this piece was
necessary for me to write.
Working with Lovely’s Aunt Mary on
the private program has revealed
some things to me that I consider to
be flaws in this community. And they
are things that I just can’t help writing
about.
The level of ignorance, insensitivity,
and egoism in this community has
come to light, and needs to be
addressed. We have many intelligent
people in this community, and there
are many I often try to give credit to.