To the citizens of Three Rivers,

In a city the size of Three Rivers, we have to be on guard against special interest and/ or religious groups that would try to dominate our political and social lives. They are usually all well-meaning people, but sometimes they don’t understand that religion should be kept in ones private life and their church and families. 

I am referring to the character program that the city is involved with. When a group of people feel they are doing God’s will, they will stop at nothing to accomplish it. They say this program is not religious, so it is ok to implement it in our government, our factories, and even our homes. But if it looks like religion, feels like religion, acts like religion, it is religion. We just don’t know what religion it is. 

The material for Character First was originated from religious character sketches. Just because a person says it is not religion, does not make it so. The citizens of this city are intelligent, hard-working, independent thinking people. We don’t need or want a character program, especially when we have over 40 churches in our city and out lying areas. Please support the candidates that will speak out for your liberty and your rights, to be a free thinking people.

Our local government should not be trying to teach our citizens how to think. It’s just that simple. 

The churches should evangelize, the city shouldn’t indoctrinate. 

The city leaders should be working on issues like making sure the Constantine pipeline works, provide better services for its citizens, watching our tax dollars, rather than teaching the city workers and the citizens how to act. 

We get troubled when people try to take our liberties away and try to teach us how to think. There have been other times that this type of thing has been tried, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, to name a few. It wasn’t right then, and it isn’t right now. 

So please help us hold our elected officials accountable.

Thank you,

Bill Schermerhorn & James Brooks