I am a confused and angry American.

Today I open my browser and see the devastation in Haiti. My heart breaks for those people and I have collected clothes from each closet to send, wishing I could do more.

Next is Pat Robertson saying this was brought on by their ancestors because they sold themselves to the devil to drive out the French back in 1791.

This is the same as the mean and untrue things he said about 9/11. It happened because the country was filled with feminists, abortionists, ACLU members, and gays and lesbians. The late Jerry Falwell agreed. When Katrina hit our shores, Mr. Robertson claimed it was because of abortion. God is mad at us.

Fred Phelps agreed. Mr. Phleps is so sure that God hates us that he and his family have made it their only mission in life to let everyone know they are going to hell. He does not like feminists, abortionists, ACLU members, or gays and lesbians either. Mostly gays and lesbians. Mr. Phelps is responsible for the law signed by President George W. Bush to keep protesters 1,000 feet from any funeral because Phelps and family were going to soldiers funerals with big signs stating they were glad the soldier was dead because he served a country that liked gays.

Next was the news that the court case to overturn California's Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage, will not be broadcast. No one will see it.

This trial was a chance to tell the truth about a population of people who have been discriminated against, not just by people but also by the government itself based on misinformation, stereotypes and lies. This is a chance to educate the American public about who and what gay people really are. Why they feel they should have all the same rights and responsibilities the rest of the nation. No one will see it.

I am now confused. How can our nation be so in the dark? We continue to allow people of power to broadcast hateful, archaic statements that hurt so many people, often when they are already hurting. Yet, we hide valid information that could open minds and the end discrimination of fellow Americans.

I am angry now. This is not the America I want. This America allows for free speech to the point it hurts people at home and abroad. It lets groups like the KKK and neo-Nazis continue to flourish. It is just fine to spread lies as truth to justify and create hatred not just at home but to whomever will listen. In the wrong hands the hatred becomes violent and often deadly.

Then it hides the truth. We are not allowed to watch our system discover the truth by which the laws we all live by are made? I am not permitted to witness as each side presents the information that will guide a judge to decide the law?

Lastly, I clicked on the link to the response from the Haitian ambassador to Pat Robertson.

The pain in his eyes was more than I could bear, and I wept.

B.J. Lincoln, Middle River

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