Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 26, 2020

THE CONVERSATIONS.. Talking About The Things That Are On Our Mind

14

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 26, 2020 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

PORTRAITS OF OUR NEIGHBORS

By Stuart Tolchin

PETER COOK



For those of you who have family and friends opposed to abortion, voted for Trump in 
2016 and now are struggling to justify a Biden vote, the following is from a pro-lifer’s 
post explaining WHY she is changing her vote in 2020. You may find this helpful.

From an ardent pro-lifer:

I keep seeing Christians say they can’t vote for Joe Biden because of his stance on abortion. I’ve 
seen Christians proudly state they are single-voter issues — it all comes down to abortion. So 
they’ll vote for Trump because he promises to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will overturn 
Roe v. Wade. That’s the one and only thing that matters.

But why? Why is that the one and only thing that matters?

Is that the one and only thing that matters to Jesus? Reading through the Bible, I would say unequivocally 
“NO.” What does the Bible say directly about abortion? And I ask this from my pro-life 
heart. The Bible has FAR, FAR more to say about pride, about abusing power to mistreat the poor, 
about lying, about treating others with hatred, about humility, about seeking forgiveness, about 
faithfulness — about ALL of that than it does about abortion.

So, Christians, why are you so willing to toss all of those morals aside? Why are you so willing to 
turn a blind eye to so many behaviors that are completely, blatantly in opposition to the heart and 
character of Christ?

When I read about Joe Biden’s stance on abortion, I see a man who has wrestled with his faith. I 
see a man whose heart wants no abortions and who has struggled throughout his years in public 
service to determine the best way to accomplish that. Is it by making abortion illegal? (At one 
point, he said “yes.”) Is it by prohibiting government funding of abortion? (At one point, he said 
“yes.”) Or is it by supporting public policies that make abortion rates decline? (This seems to be 
where he’s landed.)

This personal wrestling resonates with me. I have had those same wrestling matches within myself.

Did you know that between 1981 and 2016, the sharpest decline in abortion rates occurred under 
Democratic Presidents, not under Republican Presidents? The rates especially dropped under the 
leadership of President Obama and continued to decline after he left office. Most everyone agrees 
the reason for this is because access to contraception is key in preventing pregnancies. And under 
the Affordable Care Act, contraception coverage became more widespread. Even though some 
states enacted new abortion restrictions between 2011 and 2017, by 2017 57% of the nationwide 
decline occurred in states that had not enacted new abortion restrictions. So there is evidence that 
pursuing legal action isn’t necessary (or effective) to reduce the amount of abortions.

I am pro-life. I would like to see zero abortions. I also want to honor and value the lives of women 
who find themselves in the position of considering abortion. Those lives also matter to me. So I 
don’t believe criminalizing the choice is the best way to truly help those women. I think public 
policies that offer help and hope — financial and medical — are the best ways to reduce abortions.

Therefore, I need to find political candidates who will support programs that help the women who 
are most likely to feel that abortion is their only option, candidates who support making effective 
contraception affordable and accessible to everyone.

I also want a candidate who values all life. Refugees’ lives. Women’s lives. Black lives. Poor lives. 
Lives during a pandemic. The lives of people who disagree with him.

You see, when you say you’re voting for Trump because you’re pro-life, I can’t take you seriously. 
Because Trump has not proven himself to value lives. For the love! — read his Twitter and show me 
how this man values life.

When you say you can’t vote for Biden because of your Christian beliefs, I can’t take you seriously. 
Because again and again and again, Donald Trump’s words and actions fly in direct contradiction 
to the character of Christ.

For the past four years, I’ve been so disillusioned and heartbroken and sad to see so many Christians 
abandon their morals and contort their beliefs in order to justify their support of someone 
who so obviously violates every moral and value I was taught in the Church.

Somewhere along the line, political masterminds decided that evangelical Christians could be 
manipulated into believing abortion and gay marriage are the only two things God cares about.

Friends, that is a lie. You have been hoodwinked.

Obviously, you don’t have to vote for Joe Biden. But you can’t use our Jesus and the Bible to defend 
your support of Donald Trump.


About eighteen months ago 
as I was rushing out of the 
Pasadena Library I managed 
to stop and hold the door 
open for some fifty something 
old guy carrying an armload 
of books. He said thanks, I 
said sure it means I don’t need 
to do another good deed for a 
week. As we walked towards 
our cars we chatted and got 
along and he said something 
to the effect this could be “the 
birthday of a new world” He’s 
just sort of an amazing guy 
who has read every book in 
the library, knows everybody 
in Hollywood, is an expert in 
marketing, is a technological 
whiz and in his spare time 
tries to save the world.

 In the past eighteen 
months I have learned that he was pretty successful in business despite never 
finishing college. Some esteemed professor advised him that for a person of his 
ability - college was neither necessary nor sufficient for success. I learned that my 
new friend, Peter Cook, had followed this advice. Instead he used his time to read 
every book he could, largely from the library. I don’t want to give you the wrong 
impression of this man. He is not overly academic, he is a great fan of George Carlin, 
Lenny Bruce, and Kurt Vonnegut all of whom are favorites of mine. He just happens 
to be a fountain of knowledge from whom information pops up like the bubbles in 
a Coke.

 Anyway, at the time I first met Peter he was excited about the pending 
performance of his play Uranium and Peaches which was soon to be read at the Salk 
Institute to a packed house of Nobel Prize winners, informed scientists and White 
House advisors. 

 A picture of Peter emerges as one understands that he had read a biography 
of Leo Szilard. This is the man who originally conceived the idea of a nuclear fission 
reactor and then feared that the Nazis would use this knowledge to create an atomic 
bomb. Later, Szilard later became convinced that the creation of the bomb was 
unnecessary and that once created and dropped, a worldwide race for nuclear 
dominance would result imperiling the world. The play is about the attempt of 
Szilard and the future Nobel Prize winner Harold Urey to convince the new to office 
uninformed President Truman that dropping the bomb on Japan was unnecessary. 
After Peter read Szilard’s bio, he wrote to the biographer, a man he had never met. 
This incredible chutzpah is very typical of Peter. The play that eventually resulted 
is designed to make the American public aware that we-the-people spend a billion 
dollars a week for the care, cleaning, painting, polishing and POINTING of an 
arsenal designed to vaporize hundreds of millions of women and children and 
kittens and puppies the world over. Unfortunately, we know who has his thumb on 
the button right now. 

 September 26, 2020 is recognized as International Day for the Total 
Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. This was the subject of United Nations General 
Assembly first resolution of 1946. Yet today around 13,400 nuclear weapons remain. 
Peter’s message for today is now that the world has pretty much given up slavery 
and cannibalism it is high time we give up vaporizing-and threatening to vaporize- 
people we don’t like! There should be no such button anywhere, period.

 I am inspired by Peter because of his energy, his dedication, his knowledge, 
and his willingness to share, and his continuing attempt to enjoy life as long as we 
have it. On Thursday, he and his wife are going off to the visit the Grand Canyon. I 
also admire their courage to travel- something I am reluctant to do in these times.

 My message today is to always hold the door open for the person behind you. 
You never know. New friends can be fun and together you might be able to save the 
world. 


A HEARTFELT

 THANK YOU!


A special thanks to all of our Supporters and Subscribers! We could not have made 
it this far without you. This heart was created by my Granddaughter (Maila Thomas) 
who really knows how important the Mountain Views News is to our community. 
Please note that this is only a partial listing. 

Susan Henderson, Owner/Publisher/Editor

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com