Happy Holidays to everyone but Virgil H. Goode
We’re driving up to visit the in-laws tomorrow, and off to Cancun shortly after that, so I intended to write something happy and holiday-conscious today — and then Representative Virgil H. Goode, of Virigina, sent the following letter to his constituents (dated 12/5/06, only now are news outlets like the Times getting ahold of the story). I’m so angry — so absolutely deranged by disgust — that I need to reprint it in its entirety; it’s in reference to Keith Ellison, a Minesota Democrat who was recently elected to the House:
“When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota [Ellison] was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt [my] position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.
“The Ten Commandments and ‘In God We Trust’ are on the wall in my office. A Muslim student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Koran. My response was clear, ‘As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, The Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office.’ Thank you again for your email and thoughts.”
And according to Linwood Duncan, a spokesman for Goode, “He stands by the letter. … He has no intention of apologizing.”
Good — that means I don’t have to pass out from holding my breath. There’s so much to say, SO much to take issue with, but I’ll confine myself to this: swearing in on the Bible? Habit, possibly, but nothing more than that; nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the Bible has anything to do with taking office — any elected office. (Nor does it mention the Koran, consequently.) But the Constitution is supremely clear about the necessary separation of church and state, and expressly forbids barring any US citizen from serving in elected office on account of his or her religious beliefs.
Yes, Muslims will continue to enter America — and, with any luck, will continue to serve in the government. So, too, I hope, will Catholics, Christians, Jews, Pagans, and possibly a few atheists. God save us, more than a few atheists. And you, Virgil, can eat a fucking bullet if that future strikes you as grim.
Here, I was going to provide Goode’s email address and ask that you, good citizen, voice your opinion — but after some sleuthing, I came up against this wall:
“We will not be receiving emails again until Thursday January 4, 2007 at 9:00AM. If you need to contact Congressman Goode, you may fax him at 540-484-1459 or call 540-484-1254. These messages will be checked throughout this time period.”
Yeah? Getting a few too many emails, huh? Needed a little breather?
Coincidentally, I’ll be back from vacation of January 3, 2007. Check back here for Goode’s email address, as well as his office extension, and Happy Holidays to everyone.
Except you, Virgil, you fucking bigot.
