VOTING AND RELIGION

From the "Hartford Courant" October 8, 2006


"There should be no ambivalence voting for Lamont"

As a Jew, it is disappointing that many of my fellow Jews consider religion or a perceived but unfounded bias in favor of Israel, as a dispositive factor in casting their vote for U.S. Senator. I would hope that the priorities of Connecticut citizens and the best interests of the country would be paramount. After all, blind allegiance to faith and ethnicity seems to have caused most of the world's conflicts.

On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. To this day, it remains an iconic speech. One of many memorable passages intones: "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." To be sure, Dr. King was pleading the case of racial equality. Yet there should be little doubt that if alive today he would similarly plead the same case of judging a person by the content of his character, his deeds and his beliefs rather than the color of his skin, his religion or his national origin.

Are we not measured by our deeds and beliefs? And if that is so, isn't it necessary to examine the morality of our political acts when we choose to vote for a candidate because of his ethnicity or his religion rather than the content of his deeds and a pattern of poor judgment?

Those who would support Mr. Lieberman simply because he is Jewish are acting in a way that is antithetical to the core beliefs of this country. Such a vote ignores the wisdom and courage that Ned Lamont has demonstrated leading us in a new direction rather than "staying the course." To those of us who know Ned, we are confident that his voice will resonate with judgment, reason and fairness without any threat to the welfare of Israel.

Stewart M. Casper, Wilton