What’s Really ‘Godless’ in Warren County

In this letter, I’m not going to focus on Mr. Ranieri’s mischaracterization of Hugh Henry’s views of data centers in Warren County. Mr. Henry’s views are more nuanced than Mr. Ranieri gives him credit for, whether one agrees with them or not.

Instead, I want to address the heart of Mr. Ranieri’s letter, particularly this comment:

“The other type of potential residential development will be upper-middle-class corporate housing built for Beltway residents. The more of them that come, the more Warren County’s economic system will turn the natives of Warren County into service employees for Washingtonians. At least with the data center, the computers won’t be voting; when there are enough Washington cosmopolitans to reach critical mass, they will begin to vote to make Warren County into a place that is most comfortable for them – another rootless, Godless corporate reservation.”

Translation: Democrats, moderate Republicans, and Independents will move here from Northern VA and break the MAGA Republicans’ stranglehold on the county! They’ll keep the far-right authoritarians from banning books and defunding our public library! Quelle horreur! We can’t let that happen!

Newsflash, Mr. Ranieri: It’s not just “upper-middle-class” people moving here from NoVA, and we don’t all work for “corporations.” Many of us work in public service—nonprofits (like I do), the federal government, and the military. And many of us are Christians, too. We just don’t subscribe to an ultra-right-wing version of Christianity that places more faith in politics than in the teachings of Christ. And we didn’t vote for Trump, who’s probably the most anti-Christ-like president who’s ever held the office.

Along those lines, I also note the sad irony of Mr. Ranieri’s comment about low-income housing and the kind of people it attracts. That comment may be one of the most anti-Christian sentiments I’ve read in a long time: “First will be the construction of public housing, charitably termed ‘low-income housing.’ People who reside in such housing tend to be under or unemployed and dependent on public benefits to maintain themselves.”

The sneering tone toward vulnerable, low-income people—families who may be struggling, veterans, seniors, single parents—is not only heartless, it’s hypocritical coming from someone invoking the term “Godless” to describe others. What’s more “Godless”: moving to a new place and voting your conscience, or publicly demeaning the poor?

Oh, and Mr. Ranieri: a SweetGreen would be great. But don’t worry, it won’t stop me from eating at our fantastic local diners, cafés, and family-run restaurants.

Cara Aldridge Young
Shenandoah District
Front Royal, VA

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