Mr. Johnson did, however, make an interesting observation. The article said: “He went on to argue that ‘a free society and a healthy republic depend upon religious and moral virtue,’ arguing that society would crumble without it.” Mr. Johnson only has to witness his political party and its allegiance to Mr. Trump to see how accurate his words are.
Joseph S. Horobetz, Arlington
New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has decried homosexuality as an “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous lifestyle” that could lead to the collapse of “the entire democratic system.”
This man is second in line to the presidency. As a gay man, I can now very clearly imagine the fear that Jews in Germany must have felt in the early 1930s as the Nazis were coming closer to power, blaming Jews, communists and gays and lesbians for all the ills Germany was suffering at that time. To Mr. Johnson and all those who might accept his baseless fearmongering as fact, I would like to make clear that being gay is not a “lifestyle.” It’s a sexual orientation. Lifestyles are chosen. Sexual orientation is not.
The writer was a board member of the Baltimore Gay Alliance from 1976 to 1978 and a member of the PFLAG Columbia-Howard County steering committee from 2001 to 2012.
The Oct. 27 front-page article “For new speaker, faith is his political guide” confirmed for me that the United States is now officially a shuttlecock being bandied between autocracy and theocracy. At the risk of mixing metaphors, new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has given new meaning to the term “bully pulpit.” “God is the one who raises up those in authority,” he believes.
If God is the reason for Mr. Johnson’s ascendancy to the speakership, who are we mere mortals to argue with God?
But why are Mr. Johnson and his God so exclusive? Both appear to dislike LGBTQ+ people, women who desire to maintain control over their own bodies and people who want to be sure their votes are counted fairly. Mr. Johnson’s leadership, under God, will give short shrift — or any shift — to people in same-sex marriages. And let’s not forget those of us seeking realistic controls over gun ownership. The list goes on.
Says political activist Bruce Parker: Mr. Johnson “is brilliant and terrifying — and we are just seeing the beginning of him.”
Oh, God, please say it ain’t so.
Larry Checco, Silver Spring
The Oct. 30 news article “New House speaker’s hometown guided by faith, family” began with the clause, “In this small town masquerading as a city …”
This witty description of Shreveport, La., is the kind of urban elite contempt that helped elect Donald Trump president in 2020 and could reelect him in 2024.
In the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections, Bill Clinton won half the rural vote. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won 34 percent.
Democrats appear to have given up on rural voters.
