Some people remain unconvinced that man walked on the moon in 1969 or that Lee Harvey Oswald was responsible for the assassination of JFK.

My opinion on these topics is irrelevant. What is important is that I have the right and opportunity to examine the available information and make up my own mind, Heaven help us if we are willing to blindly believe all we are told by whomever without using the brains God gave us to think, reason, and question.

I think mushrooms are gross. I may put up a sign that says so. How others will feel about my sign and whether mushrooms are truly gross or not is irrelevant to the fact that it is my right to make up my own mind about mushrooms and express my opinions about them. I am concerned that many people fail to realize just how rare and remarkable the freedom to express one’s views without fear of punishment is, whether the subject matter is as trivial as mushrooms or as weighty as the validity of a presidential election,

It is interesting how often those who call for acceptance and tolerance seem to have so little for others. Did the majority of those who did not vote for Donald J. Trump in 2016 display acceptance and tolerance for those election results throughout the following four years?

As an American, I must recognize that my fellow Americans have the right to express their views in the manner of their choosing. If particular signs, flags, or certain speech contains material I find objectionable, I am free to look the other way, stop reading, change the channel, remove my presence from the situation, etc. As an American, I pray we fiercely protect our freedoms, all of them, given to us by God, acknowledged and enshrined into law by our wise founders, and secured for this many years by the vigilance and sacrifice of so many.

As a Christian, I cannot condone hatred, bitterness, or vulgarity: especially when I think of our children, who are under complete and total assault by immorality on every level in every way imaginable,

Ephesians 4:26 says “Be ye angry, and sin not,” and verse 15 tells us we are to speak the truth in love. II Chronicles 7:14 needs to be quoted in its entirety, not omitting the part about turning from our wicked ways if we are to expect forgiveness of our sin and healing of our land. Whether our wicked ways involve hatred, bitterness, vulgarity, theft, fraud, or deceit, we cannot expect God’s blessing and healing until we turn from them. Galatians 6:7 reads “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” If we sow hatred and bitterness toward others, or if we allow or perpetuate theft, fraud, and deceit, we can expect these things to return to us the future,

As a patriot, I pray the pro-Trump signs and flags will remain on display for as long as the love of liberty and desire for truth still burn in hearts throughout this country, or until things are put right. Election laws in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were broken by many, up to and including our governor and this should be deeply concerning to every citizen, no matter how they voted. Freedom is everyone’s business, and vote fraud and interference with elections is tyranny, and it needs to be addressed.

Kate Pierson is a Warren resident.