Single or married, all women have rights

To the editor:

Words — they can do many things. They can teach and help others learn. They can inspire. Words can change the world, like those of our founding fathers in the beginning of the most powerful document ever written. It starts with the words “We the People” in large letters for all to see. That group of words was the beginning to the U.S. Constitution. Those words founded a nation.

Words can inspire faith.

“In the beginning, …” are the first words of the book of Genesis. These were the basis of three religions that rose up and shaped our world into what it is today. Words are the shapes of the most powerful invention of mankind. That’s the idea. They can and do many things.

They can also incite and inflame people to do many things as well. History is replete with so many examples of these negatives. It would take a book to describe them all. In short, they can incite people to riot, war and other atrocities.

And here on a local level, the words of a certain pastor have inflamed an entire community. Sadly, he used words that were meant to inspire and give hope to many and turned them into an excuse for domination and control.

Thankfully, it backfired.

The only good thing to come out of this sad event is that it drew a community out of its comparative slumber to come together against this man’s ideas. It came together in words and action.

You see, words and ideas can have great impact upon our societies and in this Valley. The lessons learned from this sad incident have spurred many to reach out and come together in direct response to that column printed July 18.

I cannot say yea or nay on the paper’s position to print the column in question. That I leave up to the editors.

But I say yea to the efforts of those who have come together because of this to help those hurt by the issues raised in the article and to stand up for the rights of women. Single or married, all women have rights.

I find the recent outcry and banding together of women and women’s rights groups in response that article a good thing; one I hope grows with each passing day.

And I hope that this response by a community inflamed reaches the pastor in question with hope that he finds the humanity he lost. He should seek to correct, amend and apologize for his actions.

Daniel D. Grota

Wasilla