What Lurks Behind the Door

Once upon a time, a young man was invited to a Christmas Eve service at one of Columbia’s Interfaith Centers. As he entered he could see there were multiple doors ahead. A person stationed nearby stepped forward.

“Protestant or Catholic?” he asked the visitor.

If you are from Columbia you would probably guess that the person in question wants to help the visitor get to the correct service. But if you are a young man from Belfast, Northern Ireland who grew up during The Troubles, answering that question is not without risks. It came across not as welcoming but almost menacing,

Making choices about which door to go through comes down to what you know and who you are.

*****

In another story, a choir of women at at Roman Catholic cathedral are singing during a weekday evening rehearsal. Across the hall, a community group is holding a meeting. Every so often a woman wanders in and the choir director stops and asks if they are there to join the choir.

“No, I’m here for the meeting of Alliance for the Mentally Ill,” they would say. The director would sigh and direct them across the hall. After three or four such interruptions, yet another young woman opens the door and peers in nervously.

The choir director, impatient at all the interruptions, barks, “MENTALLY ILL?”

“No, I’m here to join the Women’s Choir,” she says in a small voice.

Two doors, two outcomes. But, to be honest, a fair amount of confusion.

*****

You may have seen announcements for a rally this Sunday afternoon, out on Route 108, by the Board of Education. They look like this:

On the other hand, you may have seen announcements for a rally this Sunday afternoon, out on Route 108 by the Board of Education, that look like this:

Unlike the first two stories, this is not a case of two separate doors that lead to two distinct outcomes. This is an example of using two separate doors to attract two different sets of people for one outcome. One event. One mindset.

And that mindset is what has motivated Moms 4 Liberty to attack public education in Howard County. M4L has made its goals clear in every community where it has sprung up:

Strip schools of intellectual freedom
Ban books from school libraries
Remove topics from history curricula that displease them
Make schools less safe for LGBTQIA students, staff, and families
Accuse teachers and school staff of indoctrination and grooming

When you see the M4L name on anything, you know that’s what it means.

Ahh, but what if you don’t see it? What if it has been conveniently omitted? Might one suspect that M4L is deliberately misleading the public in an attempt to draw bigger crowds without being honest about who they are?

Don’t be fooled. This Sunday at 2 PM, it may look like there are two doors. But they both go to the same place.

It’s not a good place.

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