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To the editor:
It seems some of our fellow citizens would like to dumb down (and I mean exactly that) the oaths our public officers have to take so that those such as themselves, who do not share in the beliefs of other citizens, might be more comfortable holding office.
I disagree. I am extremely grateful that the oath our School Board members take commits them to seeking to regard all teachers, students, and employees as of EQUAL worth, one with another, and that the education provided, disciplinary consequences meted out as needed, and compensation of employees will do the same. It is clearly un-American to
do otherwise since it opens the door to every type of bigotry and bias that we Americans have sought so rightfully and for so long to extinguish in our shared culture.
It has been speculated that the word "equitable" should be excluded because it is "divisive," but that is exactly the point of such words.
Those who do not believe that education, or the discipline meted out in our school systems for example, should be "equitable," are operating from the underlying false belief that students of a particular race, religion, gender, economic status, or sexual orientation should be treated as "lesser" human beings and that people such as themselves, coming from some "superior" group, should automatically be treated as if they were inherently "better" human beings.
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As the life, ministry, attitudes and actions of Jesus of Nazareth make clear, we are all of equal worth and loved by the God who created us. Among other things, we are called to be equitable in our treatment of all God's beloved children. To do otherwise is to directly challenge God's right to create each of us humans as God chooses for God's own good purposes.
Greg Kapphahn
Alexandria, MN
