Would you teach it to your children?

I write in response to the extremely concerning letter of July 8 (“The supremacy of conscience,” Ralph K. Ginorio) regarding the new Idaho Republican Party Platform Plank, which at its core represents a fundamentally racist construct.

The centrality of Roman/Christian values and the claim, neglecting other ancient civilizations, that only “Western” culture safeguards our identity as a free people ignores a long and violent history of global slavery, colonization and white supremacy. Suggesting that only some cultures own concepts of self-governance and individualism invents a history conveniently omitting that Rome, idealized by the party plank, thrived on slavery.

It should be unnecessary in 2020 to continually highlight the contributions of worldwide cultures, but it seems this is where we again find ourselves. I grew up as the daughter of immigrants in Spokane, the backyard of the Aryan Nations. At the time, I was proud that many in North Idaho and Spokane would insistently disavow that group’s actions. This party plank reminds us these opinions have staying power and insidiously establish themselves as mainstream.

Shawn Vestal’s op-ed is nicely juxtaposed, pointing us to what we must to do to make our region more welcoming and to call out attitudes antithetical to ideals we claim to hold as Americans. I encourage the Idaho Republican Party and anyone supporting it to deeply examine their motivations to espouse and vote for these tropes – are you comfortable teaching your children that you support claims of cultural superiority and white supremacy? I sincerely, and desperately, hope not.

Radha Nandagopal

Spokane