VIEWPOINT / Sheldon Firem & Others / Hambden Township

August 20, 2020

We are responding to the Aug. 13, 2020, Maple Leaf article written by Emily Crebs and Amy Patterson. The article summarizes a public comment conversation between two of the Geauga County Commissioners and a Chester Township resident during the last Geauga County Commissioners meeting. An audio version of the conversation is available on the Geauga County Maple Leaf website at https://geaugamapleleaf.com/news/chardon- township-wastewater-treatment-plant-project-stalled/

It was reported that the Chester resident made the following points: ‘I mean they’re letting Muslims in, for congressmen or congresswomen. How can a Muslim be a congressman? How can they swear an oath to uphold the Constitution?’

Commissioner Spidalieri is reported to have added, ‘And they don’t even do it with the Bible…. I got a problem with that, too. Totally.’

Inherent in these statements may be the assumption that Muslim Americans are not full citizens and should be denied what other citizens accept as a birthright, participation in serving our Republic.

The Chester resident opined in opposition to Gov. DeWine’s pandemic health mandates, ‘Nobody’s doing anything. Not (state Rep.) Grendell, nobody. We’ve been free for 244 years and today, we’re not,’ adding that Mike DeWine is pushing ‘draconian laws’ and ‘What he’s doing to the economy is treason.’

We are disappointed that the commissioners apparently did not ‘push back’ when Gov. DeWine was accused of treason.

The Chester resident is also quoted as stating the Geauga County sheriff got his ‘hackles up’ when the sheriff did not agree with the resident’s suggestion that a Geauga local militia be raised. We agree with Sheriff Hildenbrand’s sound assessment regarding the local militia issue.

Commissioners Spidalieri and Lennon appeared to encourage and entertain some of the Chester resident’s statements throughout the public comment section of the meeting.

While in a representative democracy it is not surprising that citizens can and should add their voice to the public debate, we wish to express our mutual concern as to the content and implications of the Chester resident’s statements and the apparent troubling encouragement given to them by some of the commissioners.

Our concerns follow:

1. The Chester resident and Mr. Spidalieri seem to be advocating a religious test when running for public office, which is unconstitutional. We believe and know that believers in all of the Abrahamic faiths (Muslims, Jews, Christians) or members of any other faith tradition — as well as nonbelievers — are constitutionally eligible to run for public office.

George Washington’s words adapted from Micah 4:4 reinforce our need for religious tolerance: “May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

The First Amendment protects our freedom of religion, making no specific reference to any religion. The First Amendment protects the Chester resident’s and the commissioners’ free speech; it also protects the religious freedom of all Americans.

2. The Chester resident indicated that Gov. DeWine is guilty of treason, that is high crimes and misdemeanors, whereas we believe Gov. DeWine has judiciously led the difficult pandemic health campaign to safeguard Ohioans.

Treason is a legal standard not an epithet. Treason addresses rebellion against the government in terms of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Gov. DeWine took an oath to ‘protect’ the federal and state constitutions, and also its citizens. Gov. DeWine has done so in addressing this complicated, multi-faceted pandemic. Ohio’s General Health statute (3701.13 Dept. of Health-powers) gives Ohio’s governors the power to protect the public under these circumstances.

3. The Chester resident is cited as saying that the House Un-American Activities Committee of the 1950s was successful going after media sponsors. In the 1950s, the HUAC used a ‘blacklist’ against communists. He stated there are now more than 80 ‘card-carrying communists’ in Congress. Are updated blacklists being advocated for the media?

History has shown that the House Un-American Activities Committee was a part of and existed in one of America’s more repressive political eras. Fear of the stereotypic ‘other’ or the other’s ideas is sometimes a motivator for those who seek to suppress and blacklist. Again, it is puzzling that the commissioners did not push back on the blacklist recommendation.

We commend the Maple Leaf for reporting these troubling conversations at the Aug. 11 Geauga County Commissioners meeting. Your article highlights the necessity of a free press. We believe that there is no place for a religious test in the United States when running for public office, that we all need to wisely and prudently use a word like ‘treason’ and we must not advocate for any resurrected ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ to address our differences with a free press or each other. Indeed, most historians now conclude that the House Un-American Activities Committee was uniquely and blatantly un-American.

We appreciate this opportunity to add our input regarding these critical issues. Thank you.