By Paula Scott

I attended Bluffton’s 2022 Memorial Day services at Maple Grove Cemetery as the Bluffton Icon, camera in hand. It’s hard to cover an event as a reporter and photographer, so I wasn’t taking notes or recording what transpired. And when the guest speaker began commentary that focused on religion and politics, I counted myself lucky that those are topics I consider off-limits for this website.

However, as the speaker continued, I realized that with his aggressive tone and partisan stance, this speech was out of the ordinary.

In subsequent days, I have heard from community members who have strongly negative reactions to his message but are uncomfortable speaking out. I received the following letter from a Bluffton resident who asked not to be identified and who comments on why the remarks were an unacceptable way to mark Memorial Day.

“Because I am a teenager involved in many activities in Bluffton, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t in the Bluffton Memorial Day parade. Last year, I was very impressed with the speaker, and I was excited to see who would be chosen to speak this year.

“Unfortunately, the man who was chosen to speak at this year’s Memorial Day parade used his position as a platform to talk about his religious and political views. He made no mention of the men and women who the day had been set aside to honor. He spoke in the middle of a cemetery, surrounded by the gravestones of other veterans. But he started his speech by urging Christians to vote, saying in no uncertain terms that he believed everyone who was not Christian worshiped Satan. He said that keeping religion out of public schools was unconstitutional. He talked about the admittance of China into the United Nations and about Communism.

“He said that he had prayed to God and that God had told him what to say. Did God really not want him to mention veterans in his Memorial Day speech? 

“While I’m glad this year’s speaker is taking advantage of his freedom to speak, he used his talk of politics and religion to divide our community. What about the people who died in battle to protect our country and freedoms, but who disagreed with him on who to worship or vote for? His speech showed them disrespect, instead of reminding us that people from every part of America had given up everything [in defense of our country]. 

“On Memorial Day, we honor the people who fought to let us state our opinions, but I am incredibly disappointed that the speaker believed that his opinions should replace respect for the fallen soldiers who brought us to where we are today.”

Should we be afraid to say such things? Should we be silenced by those who drape themselves in the American flag and claim divine guidance to demonize political opponents?

My takeaway from this experience is that--more than ever--we need to work together for the good of our community and our nation. True strength lies in our desire to love and protect all of our neighbors.