The Slippery Slope is a category of logical fallacy where one starts with a small fact and jumps to an exaggerated long-term consequence.
For example, we have heard people claim that having a Muslim mayor would lead to establishing Sharia law with no evidence.
We witnessed a tiki-torch-bearing mob shout “Jews will not replace us” without any explanation.
Because Battle Ground’s current leadership had alliances to Christian nationalism, a movement with historical ties to white supremacy, is there any evidence the town’s leadership has a Christian nationalist agenda?
I am deeply concerned that the answer is yes.
The evidence is that BG’s leadership wants prayer to be inserted into civic life. The leadership refused to honor a previously adopted pride proclamation. A BG teacher was fired due to an assumption that she lacked the right beliefs. A private investor with ties to Christian nationalism has acquired some 30 BG properties, and their pastor believes it is important to “govern unbelievers,” that America should “be a theocracy,” and that “a vigorous Christian approach” be used to deny minorities their dignity and reject same-sex unions.
I lost a trans member of my extended family to suicide and know that disrespecting minorities can do great harm. Is a vigorous Christian strongarm pressuring BG to denounce gay rights, require prayer, fire teachers, and now, formally proclaim support of ICE-style governance?
Of all the troublesome issues we currently face, nothing has traumatized me more than watching citizens be pulled from their cars, brutalized, murdered and sent to torture camps without due process.
That BG’s leaders endorse these actions and deny basic respect to minorities causes concern that their vigorous Christian agenda is anything but Christ-like. This posture matches that of white supremacists and suggests motives other than serving the community. Furthermore, the town’s leadership states that those who oppose ICE brutality or have antifascist sentiments are now to be deemed domestic terrorists.
I ran a Main Street business for 35 years, donated raffle items to every sports team and club that asked, volunteered on civic and environmental projects, gave presentations to Scout groups, and participated in Halloween and classic car events for decades — but now I’m a terrorist?
When a civic body merges religion and politics, it distorts both faith and democracy and creates favored and unfavored groups. I object that reasonable but unfavored people be regarded with hostility — that’s identity politics.
Many Christian nationalists regard unfavored groups as enemies, made particularly terrifying when backed by a local government who labels dissenting voices as rioters and encourages violence against them.
I fear BG’s proclamations are a set up to take punitive action against those of us with differing ideology. If this is to be a Christian town, please let it be the kind, forgiving, welcoming and compassionate type of Christian that I would support, and not the supremacist, xenophobic, persecutory, marginalizing, terror-inducing or other vigorous type that I fear will severely harm this sweet town.
Jill Stansbury
Battle Ground
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Letters To The Editor
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