H Love outpouring for Pittsburgh victims, victims of racism

I was watching a news report about the aftermath of the shootings at the synagogue in Pittsburgh. A prominent member of the Jewish community in the United States with the ADL talked about a woman who was too scared to death now to set foot in her own beloved synagogue.

Here’s what needs to happen: We Christians, we Buddhists, we Muslims, people of all faiths, we agnostics and people of no faith, we need to accompany our Jewish neighbors to their synagogues. We need to accompany them to their congregations. This is what needs to happen. Call your own local Jewish congregations and volunteer to provide accompaniment. We need broadbased interfaith, all faiths and no faith collaboration and cooperation so that our Jewish brothers and sisters feel safe in their synagogues. In peace and solidarity with love and justice. Shabbat Shalom.

Our hearts go out to the entire congregation of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We stand in solidarity with those in the Jewish faith as they mourn this unimaginable tragedy.

This act of terror comes at a moment when the language of racism, antiSemitism and dehumanizing rhetoric targeting political opponents is being used by elected leaders in our country, including President Donald Trump. Just this week Democratic and progressive leaders around the country were victims of multiple attempted bombing attacks by a supporter of the president.

I demand that our political leaders end their violent, racist and antiSemitic rhetoric and strongly condemn those who stoke and fan the flames of violence and division. There are real consequences for vulnerable people across our country. Provoking violence cannot be accepted as a political tactic. It is contrary to the principles of democracy and humanity, and it must stop today.

This usagainstthem nonsense has got to stop. I am not the enemy, and neither are you. We are Americans.

We simply do not have the luxury of continuing to behave like spoiled siblings always at each other’s throats. As nation we face many very difficult problems, immigration, health care costs, a physical infrastructure that is crumbling, a social infrastructure that isolates and demeans people, to name a few.

Compromise is not a dirty word and we must work together to move forward. If we continue pulling to the left or right we will continue to go around in circles, and that isn’t getting us anywhere. Send letters of 250 words or fewer to openforum@denverpost.com or 5990 Washington St., Denver, CO, 80216. Please include full name, city and phone number. Contact information is for our purposes only; we will not share it with anyone else. You can reach us by telephone at 3039541201.