The roles and responsibilities of an elected official in this country vary from city to city, county to county, and state to state. But every official, no matter what level of government they’re serving in, takes an oath of office. And if you know anything about oaths, you know they depend on the oath taker’s honesty if they’re to mean anything.
So can one “faithfully discharge the duties” of an office if they peddle disinformation and discrimination disguised as community concern and religious values? Is a politician upholding their end of that sacred oath if they use fear tactics and mass generalizations to alienate an entire segment of the constituency they’re tasked with representing?
I’m asking these questions because I’ve seen a lot of messaging lately from elected officials and so-called community leaders that are rooted in disinformation and hate, that are not only dishonest and distasteful but dangerous.
State Rep. Steve Carra, St. Joseph County Road Commissioner Jack Coleman, Pastor Jerry Solis, and St. Joseph County Republican Party Chairman Scott McGraw are holding a prayer line vigil the day before the Three Rivers Pride Festival. The quartet penned a letter to the community explaining why such a vigil is necessary.
In this letter, which can be read in full below, the group mischaracterizes the event, suggests that a Pride flag is somehow a symbol of “pedophilia,” and that the Pride Festival is designed to indoctrinate the community’s children. These statements, made by self identified Christians, are salacious lies aimed at sowing discord.
I’m not an elected official but given my role, I do see myself as a community leader. That’s why Watershed Voice agreed to be the fiscal sponsor of Three Rivers Pride in the first place, to lead by example. We were in a position to help, and we did, because Pride isn’t an event “with an emphasis on sexuality,” it’s about love, identity, and acceptance, and letting our friends, family, and neighbors know that as allies we have their backs.
Love and acceptance saves lives. Hate ends them.
So if you truly want to help the children of this community become an ally to gay, transgender, nonbinary, and bisexual youth instead of spreading disinformation and homophobia. The Trevor Project, whose mission is to end suicide among LGBTQ young people, estimates that there are over 1.8 million LGBTQ youth in the United States seriously considering suicide each year.
We have the power to change that by choosing empathy and humanity over hate. And attending the Three Rivers Pride Festival on Saturday, June 24 would be a great way to start.
Alek Haak-Frost is executive editor and publisher of Watershed Voice.
Any views or opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.
