Tolerance

It is ironic that freedom to protest and speak out for equality has been possible while this country has had conservative leaders. Now that many of our citizens have achieved equality, they turn around and attack conservatives. Those people who call themselves tolerant, liberal, open-minded, compassionate and against censorship are the ones most guilty of not practicing what they have preached.

Religious people have been the ones who stood on the sidelines for years and minded their own business, yet when they choose to participate in the political process, they are viciously attacked and labeled “right-wing extremist bigots.”

John J. Pitney Jr.’s article, “Is God a Four-Letter Word?” (Commentary, Oct. 5), makes a valid point about the paranoid fear and bigotry directed toward religious people and the attempts to deny them their rights to participate in politics.

Persecution and repression drove religious people to seek refuge in this country. Are we to become another nation of oppressors to our people? Religious people tolerated our temper tantrums and screaming for civil rights. Why can’t we respect their freedoms to express their beliefs and participate in politics? They are U.S. citizens, too.

JOYCE MARIE CHAR

Fountain Valley