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The Bangor Daily News ran a June 3 story about a Houlton school board member who resigned her position in protest of the schools having “turned away from God.” In these divisive times, particularly when conservative revisionists are calling America a Christian nation and claiming that the separation of church and state is unconstitutional, it seems important to offer a reminder that America is not a nation of any religion, much less a state-sponsored one.
We are a nation of people, period. We pursue equality for all, full stop. We are a melting pot, remember? America welcomes any and all faiths, and it welcomes atheism, too. God never got invited into public education, so it would be hard to claim that the schools parted ways with him or her.
It also seems essential to remind the former board member and her supporters that gay and trans folks are God’s children, too, if God is in someone’s worldview in the first place.
Craig Kesselheim
Southwest Harbor
