Email This StoryLariat Letters: Kistler not good source for Fort Hood article
Nov. 13, 2009While reading Laura Remson's piece on various soldiers' reactions, I was upset to read one of the people quoted in the article was Dr. David Kistler of The Faith and Freedom Institute.
This is first disappointing because Dr. Kistler is not a soldier, and his quotes are out of place on a page of soldiers' reactions to the Fort Hood shooting. I am sure that there were plenty of other soldiers that could have been interviewed for this piece.
Secondly, and more importantly, the use of Dr. Kistler leads me to question the motives or lack of preparation used by the writer when piecing together this article. The Faith and Freedom Institute is an extremely radical conservative organization with viewpoints that would not be accepted by many Americans regardless of partisanship or belief.
The mission statement of the group has the basic premise of blurring the separation of church and state. One of their objectives is to "warn the citizens of the United States of America of God's impending judgment." Kistler is notorious for his apocalyptic sermons and his public announcements claiming that many big-named Democratic politicians would be going to hell.
A simple journey to the Faith and Freedom Institute Web site greets you with an open petition calling for the impeachment of President Obama, including a list of nine grievances rallied against the president such as his bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia, an "incessant desire to develop a civilian militia" that would work at his discretion, and the nonexistence of his birth certificate. Most of the claims are wholly outrageous and are only voiced by a small fringe group.
Also included on the Web site are sample letter templates arguing against health care reform that tie conservative politics with religion; a petition against the Treaty of Copenhagen; and a page dedicated to the history of the United States, which misrepresents the actual religious beliefs of many of our nation's founding fathers.
Dr. Kistler's quotes in the article are anti-Muslim, and they further a xenophobic opinion that needs to be reprimanded rather than showcased, especially in an article dedicated to telling how soldiers feel after the shooting. He incorrectly states that all terrorism which has ever happened in the U.S. can be attributed to Muslims. This view ignores Pearl Harbor, Timothy McVeigh and the assassination of George Tiller, just to name a few.
It is disconcerting that the author of this piece would choose a person like Dr. Kistler to quote. This raises questions as to whether any research was done into his background prior to publishing.
The Lariat should be more careful in who it quotes and whose ideas it allows within its articles because it reflects poorly upon the newspaper as a whole.
Ryatt Yates
Class of '09
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