To the editor:

As people of faith, we are called to act in certain ways. We are exhorted to care for one another and the earth, to do justice, to refrain from hurting others, and to acknowledge the supremacy of our Creator. In the Christian tradition, as well as some others, we are also called to feed the hungry, heal the sick, visit prisoners, raise up the poor, tell the truth and love our neighbors as ourselves.

During the past three-and-a-half years, our government, with our money and in our name, has:

¯ Tried to take health care away from 22 million people;

¯ Responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with lies and gross mismanagement, causing the deaths of thousands of Americans;

¯ Ripped young children away from their parents and locked them in cages;

¯ Stinted on post-hurricane relief to Puerto Rico, even though it is a U.S. territory and its people are American citizens;

¯ Given millionaires and billionaires huge tax breaks, while giving working families meager tax relief;

¯ Refused to hold Russia accountable for meddling in the 2016 election or for putting bounties on the heads of U.S. soldiers;

¯ Cut the food stamp program (SNAP) and other safety net programs for low-income Americans;

¯ Ignored the urgent need to address the climate crisis and eviscerated regulations that keep our air and water clean;

¯ Abandoned, in the face of their enemies, the allies who helped us beat back ISIS in the Middle East;

¯ Stoked division, racism, extreme nationalism, and abusive treatment of women, immigrants and refugees;

¯ Rewarded convicted felons who happened to be friends of the president with pardons, sentence commutations and other “Get Out of Jail Free” cards;

¯ Tried to take away protections under DACA for the “dreamers” who came to the U.S. as undocumented children but who have not yet obtained citizenship;

¯ Been led by a president who has told over 20,000 lies to the American people.

The teachings of our faiths tell us that these acts — and many more we’ve witnessed — are wrong and morally repugnant. What might happen during the next four years if Donald Trump is reelected? Our prayers are not enough — it is our votes that will heal the rift between the country we have become and the nation we aspire to be.

Henrietta Jordan

Keene Valley