Kokomo — Be accepting of God’s gifts; vote pro-life

She was young, unwed and pregnant ... and she named him Jesus.

Two thousand years ago, that was not the norm that it has unfortunately become today. It was actually subject to punishment by law, including death by stoning.

For the Virgin Mary, this also meant enduring the ridicule and shame of the truth of her pregnancy not being believed by many.

Today, if not supported by one’s family, one can reach out to places like Birthright or even one’s own church community. These places today offer a great deal of emotional and financial support through counseling, setting up doctor’s appointments, and supplying physical needs such as clothes, diapers and food, just to name a few.

Two thousand years ago, the Mother of God faced such hardships without these same resources and was able to overcome the humiliation and shame that followed her throughout her pregnancy to deliver to us the Savior of this world.

The month of October has been designated by the Catholic Church as Respect Life Month. I challenge, now and in the future, all you (not just Catholic) young and unwed mothers-to-be who are contemplating abortion to dig deep within yourself and find the strength to face your hardships.

Seek the help that is available and accept and bring forth the gift from God that lay in wait within your womb. Please consider the life you may be denying the world.

I would also challenge all Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike, to vote pro-life this November. If we can reweave the moral fiber of this country that has been unraveling before our very eyes, we might honestly be able to quote once again from Psalms 33:12: “Happy the Nation whose God is the Lord ...”

Susan McGriff, Kokomo

Your vote should reflect your values

Once again we are being bombarded with what appears to be a never-ending assault of political ads. We should not allow ourselves to be influenced by others on how we vote.

Our objective should be to support the issues we believe are best for America, and the candidates who more closely reflect our values.  

For instance, if you are pleased with Obamacare, which Joe Donnelly supported and President Barack Obama signed into law, then along with the two of them you are giving your approval of taxpayers being forced to pay for abortions. If you believe the U.S. Constitution does not protect these children’s right to live, these men are obviously your choice.

If this is indeed where your heart is, then you must also agree with their attempt to force corporations and universities (even Christian universities) to provide contraceptives and abortion-causing medication to their employees. But, if you support these children’s fight to survive, then President Obama’s opponent Mitt Romney is your candidate of choice.

And if you believe a man should be able to marry a man or a woman a woman, then you will obviously be supporting Obama and Donnelly. However, if you believe in the biblical sanctity of marriage and that homosexuality is a sinful lifestyle, then you are no doubt supporting Romney.

If you support the continuing assault on business and those with money, and if you believe that 57 percent of the tax revenues collected by the U.S. government paid by the top 5 percent of wage earners is not enough, then once again Obama and Donnelly deserve your support. But if you believe in tax fairness and would like to see the United States of America once again become the most attractive country in the world to start a business and create jobs, then you have no doubt already decided on Mitt Romney.

This is also true for those who would like to see us return to a time when those who created wealth and jobs were looked up to instead of ridiculed and punished.

Our candidate of choice represents our support of the issues he stands for. At the end of the day we should all be proud of the issues we supported with our vote on Election Day.

Marty Kemp, Greentown

Paul Munoz wants to make a difference

I have had the pleasure of working with Paul Munoz on several benefit events for the community in Howard County. Paul is always willing to lend a helping hand and legitimately cares about this community.

His new ideas and positive attitude are a breath of fresh air for our community. We need more people like Paul in office, who truly want to make a difference for us and our families.

That is why Paul Munoz has my vote for Howard County Council at-large.

Jerry Fivecoate, Kokomo