Letters: Responding to a made-up cr-ISIS

THE ANALOGY in your Jan. 15 editorial ("We can't be governed by manufactured hysteria") between a totally fictitious attack on an abortionist by a crazed Catholic extremist and the very real shooting of a Philadelphia police officer by a crazed Muslim extremist fails miserably.

Today there are numerous Islamic extremist terror groups, ISIS and Al Qaeda among them. There are no such organized Catholic terrorist groups. Moreover, if an individual deranged Catholic kills, he or she does not do so in the name of Christ. Rarely a day goes by without murderous attacks somewhere in the world by Muslim terrorists shouting "Allahu Akbar."

It is striking that, even with an event for which there is absolutely no plausible Catholic connection, you find a way to work in a cheap shot against Catholics. Maybe next time you want to concoct such a baseless analogy, you might do it using one of the more protected groups that you would never think of insulting.

Rick Hinshaw

Director of Communications

Catholic League for Religious

and Civil Rights

New York, NY

People have an obligation to think - not react with knee-jerks.

Americans are quick to point fingers and lay blame, instead of accepting responsibility for their acts and decisions.

Irresponsible rhetoric is like shouting fire in a crowded theater: It is criminal.

Blindly believing what we are told, and then spewing inflammatory response, indiscriminately, is beneath contempt.

Mayor Kenney urged logic, science, facts, evidence, and law to govern our lives.

Taking another person's words out of context and inserting intent is reckless and reprehensible.

Sweeping generalizations, without the application of logic, are dangerous to all humans' survival.

From the Daily News editorial, "We can't be governed by manufactured hysteria" comes this quotation: "As one columnist puts it: 'If Catholic texts and teachings inspired him, how could Catholicism not be responsible?'"

Catholicism is words on paper. Catholicism did not load a gun or pull its trigger.

Islamic teachings are words on paper. They do not fire weapons.

The Torah is words on a scroll. Words are nothing but alphabetic combinations. In and of themselves, they lack power and meaning. They cannot make decisions, nor act of their own volition.

The United States Constitution is words on paper. Those words both inspire and govern.

Has our Constitution claimed responsibility for terroristic acts?

Has the parchment on which the Constitution is written, committed crimes, all by itself?

Is the United States Constitution a "smoking gun"? Or, is it, as are the Old and New Testaments and Koran, a collection of words, by which to be governed and to live, properly seasoned, not with reckless rhetoric, but with responsible reason and common sense?

Joan Lichtman

Philadelphia

Police need support from city officials

As a member of the 3rd Police District PDAC, I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see comments that City Council President Darrell Clarke made about the Philadelphia Police Department at the recent swearing-in of city elected officials. He seemed to imply that Philadelphians live in fear of the police, while also seemingly to paint all of our police officers with the same broad brush. I was equally disappointed, although again not surprised, that Councilman Clarke also did not attend any of the pro-police support rallies held throughout the city last year. His absence did not go unnoticed.

I would like to extend an invitation to Council President Clarke to get out of the Academy of Music and City Hall and travel below South Street. That way he could come to South Philadelphia for something other than a ribbon-cutting or photo opportunity and see for himself who is really committing the crime in my neighborhood and forcing my law-abiding and hardworking neighbors to be careful and wary as they go about their daily lives. I can assure Council President Clarke it is not the Philadelphia Police Department committing any these crimes.

Joe Eastman

Advisory Council

3rd Police District

Let us decide whether to support Sanders

Signe Wilkinson's Bernie Sanderson cartoon (Jan. 21) suggests that anybody who votes for Bernie Sanders, like me, should not bother, since, as you tell us, we won't win in the general election. I would much prefer you let us, the voters, decide for ourselves, thank you very much.

John Oliver Mason

Philadelphia