To the Editor:
My friend Damien Garofalo argues that slavery and genocide reflect people losing their way by making ego their master. I agree.
Pastor Garofalo loses his way when he insists that we can be free of ego only through Christian theology – worshiping Christ. That is demonstrably false, as we see through the examples of Buddha, Gandhi and countless others.
Christian theology’s “one way” is not the answer. The way out of ego is to care about others, and put that caring at the core of life. We do not need a middle-man or a story to do that.
Theism creates the very problem that well-meaning theists claim to avoid. We choose which religion to follow, and how to interpret it. That is why theistic religion is at the core of so many conflicts. In this, nothing has ever saved us from ourselves, or ever will.
No one can serve two masters. That is why a core commitment to the worth and dignity of every person, not to theology, is the solution to our problems.
Paul L. LaClair
Kearny
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.