I was really stirred by Laura Hollis’s article on “God or Government“ (published in the Sept. 20–26 edition). I was born in 1951 and grew up in a small town near Greenville, Ohio. I walked to and from school every day, and many young men drove their pickup trucks to school with a rifle displayed across their rear window. They didn’t lock their vehicles because we were brought up not to steal, and it didn’t even cross our minds to use that weapon to murder our fellow classmates. It was a respected hunting rifle. The only drills we had at school were for fires and tornadoes! There were no cops on the ground and our backpacks never had to be searched. We had respect for our peers, whether they be teachers, officers, doctors, or just each other. We truly appreciated their work ethics and commitment to their job, giving us good examples.
Annie Oakley is a Greenville legend, and every year at the Annie Oakley Festival we had gun shooting competitions. Most young people belonged to a 4-H group, Girl Scouts, and/or Boy Scouts. 4-H also had shooting competitions with guns, rifles, and even bows and arrows. In these groups, we also learned survival skills, moral principles, and how to become productive adults. Most businesses were closed on Sundays, and most folks attended a church. One of my pastors had come out of a Chicago gang with his life drastically changed! What a testimony! As Ms. Hollis’s article states, “The best assurance of our continuation as a free and prosperous nation is ... in our decisions.” Choices have consequences! Our nation was the greatest on earth because of the decisions made to honor a Holy God who blessed us greatly for it! We need to return to that.
Linda Plank
Florida
