Letter to the Editor: Ottawa Impact embodies Christian nationalism

I have been following with increasing concern the actions of the members of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners who identify as Ottawa Impact. Commissioner Jacob Bonnema had the audacity to vote against the wishes of the Ottawa Impact members. Instead, he determined to vote for what he believed represented that of his constituents. Furthermore, the Ottawa Impact commissioners and the Ottawa County Republican Party voted to censure Bonnema for his actions. How dare he!

It is apparent that Ottawa Impact commissioners believe it's their way or the highway. Whatever happened to civil discourse and that awful, dreadful word "compromise"?

Christian nationalism is defined as "the anti-democratic notion that America is a nation by and for Christians alone. This idea threatens the principle of the separation of church and state. It leads to discrimination and at times violence, against religious minorities and the nonreligious."

Remember what brought our forefathers to this special place, which evolved into the United States of America: primarily religious freedom.

And recall the words of Abraham Lincoln who stated in the Gettysburg Address: "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. ... That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Ultimately, in the end, it is up to us, the citizens of Ottawa County, to choose the future direction of our very special place.

Phil Leech

Spring Lake Township

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Letter to the Editor: Ottawa Impact embodies Christian nationalism