PANDEMIC: Praying for writer

With regret I read the letter in the Coeur d’Alene Press by Esequiel Vasquez accusing me and those who attended the National Day of Prayer at McEuen Park of in effect being a danger to our community and indicating that these Protestants are a rabble of non-true worshipers of God who flagrantly resist God ordained authority. He fails to understand that we have a duty under God to provide for our families and those hardest hit by this pandemic.

We also have rights under the U.S. Constitution that permit resistance to government edicts even if well intentioned if these deprive us of the ability to make a living.

We are near or at the tipping point of economic disaster. We have not yet fully experienced the potential domino effects including massive unemployment, devaluation of pensions and IRAs, failure of businesses/financial institutions, possible food shortages, potential civil unrest and huge future tax increases.

The original goal post was to flatten the curve, which has occurred. It is time for most of the U.S. to return to work if we expect to salvage our nation’s future. True, cases may spike and we may have a recurrence in the fall but we must accept that reality and we are obligated to resist attempts to close down our economy again. Let’s follow Sweden’s model by protecting our most vulnerable as we wait for a vaccine that may have an efficacy of 50%.

Consider also, if not for Protestants, our American Revolution called the Presbyterian Rebellion by King George would not have occurred.

EDWARD de BRUIN

Hayden