Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are the author’s, and do not necessarily represent those of this publication.
By The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth S. Hall
July 30, 2014
An open letter to Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.):
I write this letter to you as you voted in the House of Representative today to sue the President of the United States.
I have watched and listen with a broken heart as statesman and stateswomen have failed to take up the pressing needs of our democracy. I am reminded of President Lincoln’s words during his second inaugural address as the civil war was ending.
In the magnanimous and grace-filled language of a leader calling for “malice toward none” and “charity for all.” Is the divide in our country today any less dangerous? Can we not raise up leaders today who will lead us through these troubled waters?
I am saddened by the collective animosity and hatred displayed in our day and today.
I am distraught by the language of violence, fear and terror used to make claims of truth when only falsehood and distortions prevail.
How will we ever work for the collective good and care for neighbors, both near and far, if we cannot be open to the tension within our own lives and the struggle to find “common ground” for our differences? How are we leading, dear sir? Was this act today in the House of Representatives an act of leadership toward healing and resolving differences? Or was this an act of perpetuating and exacerbating the ‘civil war.’
How long, dear sir, will you and I stand idly by as our democracy slips into the great abyss? How long will we relish our differences instead of practicing the art of compromise–the art of politics?
I write to you because I find you a good man, a man of principle, a man willing to use your position and your power for good and not for evil.
Grace and peace to you,
Elizabeth S. Hall
Elizabeth Hall of Morris Plains is president of Homeless Solutions Inc.
