Leonard Pitts Jr.: Boycott Arizona | Leonard Pitts Jr. | CentreDaily.com
Leonard
Pitts, Jr., has written what I think is an important column about the
pending Arizona law that would allow people to discriminate based on
their religious beliefs.
We are a
nation of immigrants. The fundamental fact about Americans is that we
all come from different places, with different cultures, different
traditions, etc. What we share in common is that we are Americans and
honor the principles of equality on which our nation was created. As we
become Americans, we tend to create two cultures. One is the private
culture of our family traditions. The other is the public culture of
being an American in a great democracy. Tolerance for the beliefs of
others is what makes it possible for all of us to honor our
personal/familial/cultural traditions while maintaining a free society.
The democracy of a nation of immigrants cannot survive if each of us is
to put our private beliefs above our public commitment to equality.
This
is not a freedom of religion issue, as much as the Arizona legislature
wants to call it that. It is a license for intolerance.
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