I attended the rally and hearing on Feb. 10 at the Clark County Public Service Building regarding Councilor Tom Mielke’s proposal to place the slogan “In God We Trust” in our public hearing room. I spoke against the proposal along with many of our residents, who included both believers and non-believers. Most pointed out that the proposed slogan was exclusionary and divisive.
As Councilor Jeanne Stewart stated, this country is already politically polarized to the detriment of us all. She would not endorse the slogan because it is polarizing and divisive. Councilor David Madore said he would not vote for the proposal unless the vote was unanimous. Therefore, it failed.
Now Madore, in his craven, arrogant way, wants to disinter the proposal. I believe he is doing it for no other reason than he realized its publicity value, and publicity equals votes. Why do I say he is craven? Because the crowd of people that opposed the slogan on Tuesday were gone on Wednesday. Why do I say arrogant? Because the people have spoken, but he thinks only his opinion matters.
The slogan excludes a huge segment of our population: Not all of us are Christians. Clark County includes Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, as well as agnostics, atheists and humanists.
