This letter is in response to the one written Dec. 13 by the Rev. Frederick H. Giese, who opposes same-sex marriage (“Same-sex marriage foes won’t get out of the way”).
The Rev. Giese used biblical quotes to bolster his position that homosexuality is a sin, and backed it up with folksy “wisdom” from a congregant who observed, “It just ain’t natural.”
I have a story of my own.
My (then) 10-year-old daughter was discussing the lyrics to Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” with a classmate.
The conversation turned into one about homosexuality.
The classmate explained that being gay was a sin because God doesn’t like gays.
My daughter asked her, “If being gay is a sin, why did God make them that way?”
Out of the mouths of babes, eh, Reverend Giese?
I can cherry-pick quotes, too. Here’s one: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
A person can believe in God and embrace all that he has made, including the ability to nurture tolerance for things we find hard to accept.
Christians didn’t coin the word “marriage.” They don’t own it, and they should stop acting like they do.
Meghan Gaven
South Portland
Not all districts are lax with substitute teachers
I take umbrage with Ray Arft’s assertions in his letter concerning substitute teachers (“Time to take a close look at hiring of substitute teachers,” Dec. 18).
I am in my second year as a substitute teacher in the RSU 14 Windham- Raymond school district, grades K-12.
The requirements I needed to meet in order to be hired were:
1. College graduate. I hold a bachelor of science in business administration (majoring in management) from a major university.
2. Three letters of recommendation.
3. A thorough background check, including fingerprint search.
4. Interview with an assistant principal.
For $70 a day, I undertake whatever assignment comes my way.
One day I might be a high school study hall monitor for seven hours, the very definition of tedium.
The next day, I might be in a kindergarten class of children I don’t know and who don’t know me.
This class may include a child with autism, another with impulse control issues and even some poor child prone to violent outbursts.
Diabetic child? I am responsible for seeing that the child goes to the nurse on schedule and must be alert to signs of hypo- or hyperglycemia.
In addition, I must work with all the other children, teaching, guiding, correcting, nurturing, listening, encouraging, and loving.
I may also pull playground or lunch duty.
We do not operate in a vacuum. Especially in the lower grades, teachers’ aides are in and out and administrators and teachers stop by to see how things are going.
Middle and high school assignments mean reporting at 7 a.m. Calls for substitutes come in daily between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. and then again between 5:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.
If you do not answer the phone, you miss out on work.
Then, of course, there are all those days without work.
Because one district is reportedly negligent does not mean all are. Please put away the tar brush.
Mary Quirk
Windham
Senior citizens ill-served by partisan agendas
In a recent column (“MaineCare plan on course to hit home,” Dec. 11), Bill Nemitz quoted his mom as saying, “We’ll cross that cliff when we come to it.”
It struck a responsive chord in my wife and me.
For the better part of our 84 years, we have lived full and productive lives, earned a decent living wage, provided a home for a loving family, paid our fair share of taxes and served our country in the military when called upon.
We are not alone. There are millions of our fellow citizens who, just like us, fall into the category of middle-class families.
Now that we have reached our so-called “golden years,” we find ourselves totally dependent upon the government we have supported for most of our lives.
Our sole income is derived from Social Security benefits.
Our medical requirements are covered by Medicare and Medicaid insurance, all government “entitlements.”
Unexpectedly, we discover ourselves teetering on the edge of a cliff.
The security we’ve worked so hard for is being threatened by partisan Americans blinded by their own selfish agendas and political ambitions.
Many of our elected officials and their hard-core supporters, at state and federal levels, have determined that the only way to balance budgets, reduce deficits and shield themselves and their wealthy benefactors from paying their fair share of taxes is to shrink the size of “big government.”
If they are successful in achieving their goal, they will, in the process, reduce or actually eliminate the government benefits we rely upon for our continued existence.
It will be a national disgrace if we are pushed over the cliff into oblivion, ending our American dream.
Sam Kamin
Cumberland
Candidate hopes to become new voice for young Maine
As a young person living in the state of Maine, I can no longer sit by and let my future be thrown away.
Young people are leaving the state because there aren’t enough opportunities, either educationally or enough jobs to support them.
Forbes just recently ranked Maine last out of all the states for our business climate.
Moreover, seniors have to choose between heating their homes and paying for prescription drugs, while the governor wants to cut more programs.
The time has come for an individual to run for office who isn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers to get the job done, who will stand up for the interests of his or her constituents over trying to score political points for the next election, and will tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear.
The good-old-boy political game needs to be unraveled and replaced by a system that actually works for those who work the hardest in the state: you.
We cannot keep electing the same people to office and yet in the same breath expect a different result.
Who is actually working tirelessly to help end the partisan bickering and re-establish a structure for solving the real problems in our state?
If each of us speaks out and holds officials accountable, no longer will our so-called leaders be able to hide behind a veil of status quo as their constituents are crying out for change.
If we rethink the priorities with what the people actually want and reform the policies to reflect that, we can then renew the commitment of a representative democracy.
The time for games is over.
The time for solutions has come.
Justin Chenette
candidate, Maine House of Representatives District 134 — Saco
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