Mailbag:

I think Rhonda Friedman is on to something when she wrote that writing about “Christian values” is now the buzzword to get into print.

Because I like to write and see my name in the paper as often as possible, Friedman’s words inspired me. We do hear a lot about “Christian values” these days, especially in the Daily Pilot, but no one has really explained what “Christian values” really are. Perhaps I can shed some light on the topic.

Over history, “Christian values” have included the following:

Burning people at the stake for holding “heretical” beliefs;

Waging war against other countries to gain territory in the name of Christ;

Destroying native cultures and religions worldwide;

The Salem witch trials;

In some sects, polygamy and forced child marriage;

Evicting non-Christians from their homelands;

Book censorship;

Simulated cannibalism during church services;

Denying civil rights to various minority groups;

Justifying the enslavement of African Americans before the Civil War;

Imposing “moral” values on others.

Well, I could go on, but I realize that this would be an imposition on the page editor.

So there you have it. Christians, not to exclude other religious folks for that matter, have done quite a bit to impose their values on the rest of the world. We in our modern age continue to suffer the consequences.

Lenard Davis

Newport Beach

Arboreal blues in Cameo Heights

I recently read your article regarding trees in the Daily Pilot (“A tree stands between them,” Oct. 22).

Not only did it remind my husband, Michael, and I of our situation, but it made me want to write you about our communities, Cameo Highlands and Cameo Shores.

We live in Cameo Highlands in Corona del Mar and have been at odds with the neighbors above us for about a year.

They claim that our palms are in their way — we have cut the leaves as far down as they can go, and it’s not enough.

There is a lot more to the story — but that’s basically it. What has made this story so interesting is that our surrounding neighbors are furious over the killing of trees, and the board meetings on this subject have been rather heated. We recently wrote a letter along with a petition for the surrounding neighbors to sign to stop the killing of trees. This has caused even more debate.

In this day and age when we are all trying to go green, our particular Cameo community is going in the opposite direction.

Sandra and Michael Prime

Newport Beach