Religious arguments
I am very tired of people claiming that their religious beliefs allow them to endanger the lives of others in the community. That is simply not true.
Freedom of religion is not an absolute.
A store owner who insisted his religion told him he should not serve anyone who wasn’t Caucasian would be shut down.
A religion wanting to practice human sacrifice would not be allowed to do so, no matter how sincere the religious beliefs of its members.
People claiming their religion said that girls should not attend school after they turned 10 would find themselves in trouble with the courts.
Religious arguments cannot stand when they harm or endanger others in the community.
People who insist they have a religious right to infect their neighbors with a potentially deadly disease are in the same category. In my view, anyone not vaccinated (except for those with a valid medical excuse) should be placed under house arrest and not allowed out in public for any reason.
Daniel Lindsay
Hilo
Plastic communities
I applaud Jeffrey Lux’s letter to the editor (Your Views, Dec. 2) about the Papaikou Gym destined to be destroyed and his mention of a Mahukona pavilion being boarded up.
The only way forward is to own our history — yes, gnarly things happened in the past, but for the kids coming along it’s just “interesting information.”
Let’s preserve these buildings that people put their sweat and conviction into building, instead of another “plastic version” of what the community’s roots/foundation is really about.
The leaders of this community could do a whole lot better about preserving the past that so many put their sweat toward instead of another plastic community.
I’m fully aware it’s always about money, but I visited a community in Nova Scotia that said aole fast food — and kept their culture and individuality as a community, and they are thriving because people want real culture!
Eve de Molin
Volcano