Editor’s note: This letter is in response to the letter, “These are the things that I believe in,” published May 26, 2021.

David Cannon lists six things he believes in and then states that these are admittedly far right beliefs.

Three of the six — obeying, honoring and sustaining the law of the land, family is the core fundamental unit of society, and equality for all — are not far right at all but are widely held by people of many beliefs.

And a fourth, America is the best country on Earth, is not even close to the truth. While I am very glad to live in this country, there is a lot about it that needs work. The only three categories we lead the world in are: most incarcerated people per capita; the number of adults who believe that angels are real; and defense spending. I doubt that qualifies us as the best country on Earth.

Most incarcerated is very troubling because we are supposed to be the freest country in the world. Our defense spending amounts to 41 percent of all the money spent in the world for defense.

Mr. Cannon then goes on to state that the welfare system is responsible for producing all of the “single parent families.” I’m not sure what the implication of that statement is but I suspect, since he blames welfare for the problem, he would probably want it ended.

I personally believe all of our single parent families have more to do with us having the highest incarceration rate per capita, but that’s just me.

I agree we need to find a way for more fathers to be in the home. Maybe stop throwing them in prison? Just a thought.

Mr. Cannon says BLM has stated that its goal is to disrupt the nuclear family structure and that is true as far as it goes, what he doesn’t say is what they mean by that statement, which is the disruption of the inequities of services that are provided to nuclear families that are not provided to single parent families.

As to his last point, that ours is a racist country, a person doesn’t have to delve very deeply into our systems of punishment, money lending, housing and many many others, to realize the reality of systemic racism in action and what is meant by saying our country is racist is, that in most cases, we turn a blind eye to it.

Unfortunately, I perceive from some of his previous letters that he is not really a “You do You and I will do me” kind of guy, he seems to be more of an, “I’ll do me and you should try harder to do like me too.”

And just for the record, I was twelve when under God was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. I’ve never said it because I don’t believe it and we are a long way from “Liberty and Justice for All.”

Larry Benson

Enumclaw