Really meaning it

Correspondents John Terris, Jim Young, and Allan Mansell have reached into the grab bag of Rightwing cliches but oddly don’t agree on which to use (Letters, Nov 17).

Is the new Government dominated by ‘‘trendy’’ lefties, eager seekers after the ‘‘Red Dawn’’ or Maoists and Stalinists? Terris, Young, and Mansell should update their Cold War vocabularies to show that they actually live in the 21st century.

Since the previous government pledged to take 150 refugees from Manus Island, why does Young thinks it reprehensible because the current prime minister pursues the issue?

Is the crucial difference that Bill English didn’t really mean it for fear of offending Australia and Jacinda Ardern actually means what she says?

If meaning what you say is what trendy lefties do, they demonstrate a greater commitment to ‘‘truth’’ and ‘‘love’’ than the so-called Christians that Allan Mansell credits for freedom and prosperity.

For those willing to test such claims against actual evidence, the American states that boast about their commitment to Christian values have the highest rates of poverty, divorce, teenage pregnancy, execute more people, and carry the most guns. Isn’t ‘‘thou shalt not kill’’ one of the Ten Commandments?

DOLORES JANIEWSKI

Highbury