ANALYSIS/OPINION:

It was bound to happen. In fact, I’m surprised it took this long for leftists to viciously attack Kay Coles James.

The general strategy since she became president of The Heritage Foundation seems to have been to largely to ignore Mrs. James in an attempt to keep the masses unaware of her effective advocacy of conservative principles.

It was only a matter of time that they no longer would be able to bite their collective tongue and launch an all-out attack on Mrs. James‘ voice of reason.

But their plan backfired. Thanks to the intolerance of Google’s powerful, rich empire, Kay Coles James is quickly becoming a household name.

In late March, a small cabal of Google employees began circulating a petition calling for Mrs. James to be removed from Google’s newly appointed external advisory council on artificial intelligence. The title of the petition? “Googlers Against Transphobia and Hate.”

In their frantic efforts to portray Mrs. James as a monster because her views differ from theirs on issues as varied as immigration, climate change and Judeo-Christian teachings, the leftists reveal their hatred and disdain for free thought, free speech and religious freedom.

If they had bothered to do their homework, Google employees would have discovered that Mrs. James beautifully practices the whole Gospel of Christ. She’s unafraid to voice her deeply held religious convictions while exhibiting more love toward people of differing views than almost anyone else in the public eye.

Instead, the leftists chose to stereotype Mrs. James, a practice they claim to abhor.

Over the decades I’ve known Kay Coles James, I’ve found myself time and time again learning valuable lessons through her exemplary life.

Many of us may have been harsher in our tone than we should be in debating everything from the sanctity of human life, to environmental stewardship, to same-sex marriage. Others have been downright mean toward the “LGBTQ” community.

But not Mrs. James, whose own son, by the way, is openly gay.

If Google workers had been sincerely interested in the truth, they would have explored Mrs. James‘ relationship with her son’s LGBTQ community. In so doing, they would have learned that she is adored.

Instead, Google decided to attack Mrs. James wrongly and viciously, and slammed the door on one of our nation’s greatest advocates for the peaceful coexistence of people of different faiths and lifestyles.

When Google executives cowardly dissolved the entire advisory council rather than challenge the lies about Mrs. James head on, they caved to the screeching demands of those who have no tolerance for people of faith.

Mrs. James is one of the most effective pro-life, pro-family, pro-freedom advocates of our time. For some 40 years, she’s been a consistent voice for timeless American principles. Her grace in representing her faith and values drives the left stark-raving mad.

The fact that Kay Coles James is black, Christian and a woman means she lives with a target on her back, nailed there by so-called “progressives.”

How dare she, as a black, a Christian or a woman — much less all three — reject the leftist thought plantation! Google believes she must be punished for having the audacity to think and speak for herself. It’s another leftist “high-tech lynching.”

If the left can shut out a person of Kay Coles James‘ high character because of her Christian and conservative views, then more severe persecution awaits America’s children and grandchildren if they dare attempt to voice their own beliefs.

Google employees could have learned a lot from Mrs. James about building bridges, how to check differences at the door without compromising personal convictions, and how to join hands to move our nation forward.

Instead, they placed a cone of silence and ignorance around their own prejudices and hatred.

Evolving sciences and technologies must be developed and used within an ethical framework. In failing to stand up for the basic human rights of the freedom of speech and religion, Google executives have established that they cannot be trusted to guide critically needed ethical discussions.

Their repeated willingness to persecute people of faith and demand that minorities and women, in particular, comply with the dictates of the mob is shameful and immoral.

When religious freedom and the freedom of speech are denied for some, the practice of these self-evident rights is at risk for all. Google seems dead set on using its power and technology to throw the First Amendment on the “ash heap of history.”

• Rebecca Hagelin can be reached at [email protected]

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