To the editor:

In his letter of Feb. 15 (“Do you think these things are good for America?”), Mr. Stefan Schemine responded to the Rev. William McCartney’s comments on the lack of civility in this year’s presidential campaigns by displaying the very behavior McCartney was talking about.

Mr. Schemine quotes McCartney’s statement that “In a nation whose coinage affirms ‘e pluribus unum’ (out of many, one) … it’s destructively un-American to diminish others so viciously.” Then Mr. Schemine went on to claim that he found it “odd that a reverend would (forget) to mention ‘In God we trust’ was also on our coinage.” This led, of course, to one of Schemine’s predictable suppositions that the “progressive liberal Democrat party … would love to get all that removed entirely” and that “they want no belief in God whatsoever.”

To make sure the public knows of his personal covenant with the Almighty, Mr. Schemine followed these accusations with a tirade against President Obama’s visitation to a mosque to speak with Muslims on the issues of unity and inclusiveness. With his eyes wide shut, he continued to expound on a favorite theme of his, that President Obama is responsible for the rise of ISIS, and that he is opening America up to Islamic extremists.

It strikes me that Mr. Schemine is capable of understanding that his words are toxic to any community striving for inclusiveness and equality. His self-righteous attitude toward others who see the world from a different perspective than he does merely reinforces an attitude of intolerance he would like our nation to adopt. Huffing and puffing the same old “progressives are the source of all evils” gets tiring and serves to explain nothing.

Personally, I don’t care whether or not God is mentioned on our coins, in the pledge, or anywhere else outside of church because my concept of the Divine is not limited to the unexamined pronouncements of fundamentalists who think they are actually quoting “the Word of God” when they use the Bible to condemn their political and social enemies. There are many interpretations as to what Jesus was doing during his life and ministry, but there is one consistency about his attitude and teachings: He wanted to see justice done here on Earth, and that meant changes in the status quo would have to come.

Changes in the status quo, Mr. Schemine. You know: Progressivism.

Tony Marconi

Delaware