I’m sending this to those who represent me as well as sharing this with you as an open letter.
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Dear Senator/Congressman,
I am writing to express my dismay regarding the military strike on the “drug boat” from Venezuela this week. This was clearly illegal and immoral.
I am certainly not defending drugs or their transport. But as a nation, we have a moral obligation to tackle problems in ways that are better than this. These men were human beings, and my faith teaches they were created in the image of God. They were not given any sort of due process such as being arrested, tried, and convicted for their alleged crimes. In addition, an effectual death penalty enacted by the military is not at all an appropriate level of punishment for drug transportation.
Ethically, this constitutes murder, not casualty of war. Even war has rules, and this was indiscriminate killing. A better alternative would have been to arrest them. If we can go to the trouble and expense of drone strikes, we can do something more ethically sound to deal with the problem.
Please do whatever you can, as our Alabama representative, to confront the atmosphere of violence and hostility created by the present day populism and disregard for human beings whether they be immigrants, people of other countries, political foes, and yes, proposed criminals.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Steve West
Minister, chaplain, and citizen of Alabama
