| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Woden" |
| Date: |
04 Sep 2003 09:12:20 PM |
| Object: |
My Letter to Editor |
For those who are interested in this sort of thing, here is a letter to the
editor for our local paper, The Gwinnett Daily Post, in response to Cal
Thomas' editorial entitled "Commandments clash more than a conflict between
church and state".
The original editorial available here:
http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/editorials.html
My Letter:
http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/article276F573E1A1A466F8C20A
9063EE7C48E.asp
Here is the text for those who don't want to look it up.
Thomas’ argument on Ten Commandments misleads readers
Having read Cal Thomas’ article, “Commandments clash more than a conflict
between church and state.” in the Gwinnett Daily Post (Aug. 26), I feel
inclined to comment on his misleading and demeaning comments.
He takes exception with the judicial ruling that the Ten Commandments
monument must be removed from the Alabama Supreme Court building and
decries this as an example of our “culture being dismantled by judges who
are unaccountable” to the people. Surely a man as educated as Thomas is
aware that the judges of this country take an oath to uphold the
Constitution and not the whims of the populace. Of course, stating this
wouldn’t help Thomas inflame the Christian majority into thinking that they
are somehow being discriminated against in this particular case. I’m sure
that Thomas also learned in his high school Civics class that the Bill of
Rights was intended to protect the rights of the minority from abuse at the
hands of the majority. A lesson that he and many other would-be demagogues
tend to ignore.
Thomas also states that he is offended by what he sees in the streets, in
the media, etc., and wonders why others can not similarly accommodate his
views. What he fails to acknowledge is that the courts have never
restricted his right to express his views wherever and whenever he chooses,
merely that the government (such as the Alabama Supreme Court) can not use
its positions (and positions of its members) as a pulpit to force their
particular religious beliefs on the rest of the populace. So, Thomas, I
want to remind you that the rest of us do accommodate your beliefs, we just
don’t want the weight of government thrown behind them.
Finally, I would like to comment on his attempt to belittle, demean and
demonize those who don’t share his religious faith when he questions if
“irreligious people who worship their personal golden calves of pleasure
and affluence” will find his god if they see these displays. His prejudice
and bias against those with rational and concrete reasons for not
believing, serve only to further marginalize the non-religious minority.
But based on previous articles he has posted, I’m quite aware that he
regularly offers such discriminatory lies and misleading descriptions as
part of his regular effort to play to the religious right.
But, in the interest of fair play, and in an attempt to find a rational
solution to the question of whether or not the Ten Commandments (or any
other religious work) should be displayed in any government facility, I
would offer the following compromise. If it is so important to his god that
these works be displayed, I would be willing to let them be displayed if
his god were to personally provide a miracle and place them there himself.
But until then, I applaud the judges in this country who have shown the
courage and intelligence to support the Constitution in spite of the
current loud public outcry to do otherwise.
— Ed Sveum
Lawrenceville
--
Woden
"religion is a socio-political institution for the control of
people's thoughts, lives, and actions; based on
ancient myths and superstitions perpetrated through
generations of subtle yet pervasive brainwashing."
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| User: "Geoff Offermann" |
|
| Title: Re: My Letter to Editor |
05 Sep 2003 12:23:43 AM |
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"Woden" <woden@charter.net> wrote in message
news:Xns93ED67B28237wodennet@216.168.3.44...
For those who are interested in this sort of thing, here is a letter to
the
editor for our local paper, The Gwinnett Daily Post, in response to Cal
Thomas' editorial entitled "Commandments clash more than a conflict
between
church and state".
<snip a cogent response to a reactionary editorial>
Looks like your article was dumped by the paper.
.
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| User: "Woden" |
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| Title: Re: My Letter to Editor |
05 Sep 2003 06:07:07 PM |
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"Geoff Offermann" <gebobs@yahoo.nospam.com> wrote in
news:y5V5b.171115$2x.48972@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net:
"Woden" <woden@charter.net> wrote in message
news:Xns93ED67B28237wodennet@216.168.3.44...
For those who are interested in this sort of thing, here is a letter to
the
editor for our local paper, The Gwinnett Daily Post, in response to Cal
Thomas' editorial entitled "Commandments clash more than a conflict
between
church and state".
<snip a cogent response to a reactionary editorial>
Looks like your article was dumped by the paper.
Yeah, I don't think they keep it on the current page very long, but it
should be in their archives, I haven't checked.
--
Woden
"religion is a socio-political institution for the control of
people's thoughts, lives, and actions; based on
ancient myths and superstitions perpetrated through
generations of subtle yet pervasive brainwashing."
.
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| User: "*Nemo*" |
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| Title: Re: My Letter to Editor |
05 Sep 2003 02:24:54 AM |
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In article <Xns93ED67B28237wodennet@216.168.3.44>,
Woden <woden@charter.net> wrote:
Finally, I would like to comment on his attempt to belittle, demean and
demonize those who don’t share his religious faith when he questions if
“irreligious people who worship their personal golden calves of pleasure
and affluence” will find his god if they see these displays. His prejudice
and bias against those with rational and concrete reasons for not
believing, serve only to further marginalize the non-religious minority.
But based on previous articles he has posted, I’m quite aware that he
regularly offers such discriminatory lies and misleading descriptions as
part of his regular effort to play to the religious right.
Yeah, you get that a lot from Cal Thomas. I wonder what sort of e-mail
he gets from atheists, and how he responds to it. My guess is he trashes
it without reading.
But, in the interest of fair play, and in an attempt to find a rational
solution to the question of whether or not the Ten Commandments (or any
other religious work) should be displayed in any government facility, I
would offer the following compromise. If it is so important to his god that
these works be displayed, I would be willing to let them be displayed if
his god were to personally provide a miracle and place them there himself.
But until then, I applaud the judges in this country who have shown the
courage and intelligence to support the Constitution in spite of the
current loud public outcry to do otherwise.
Excellent letter. I hope it gets some response from others.
--
Nemo - EAC Commissioner for Bible Belt Underwater Operations.
Atheist #1331 (the Palindrome of doom!)
BAAWA Knight! - One of those warm Southern Knights, y'all!
Charter member, SMASH!!
http://home.earthlink.net/~jehdjh/Relpg.html
Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
Quotemeister since March 2002
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| User: "johac" |
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| Title: Re: My Letter to Editor |
05 Sep 2003 12:38:48 AM |
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In article <Xns93ED67B28237wodennet@216.168.3.44>,
Woden <woden@charter.net> wrote:
For those who are interested in this sort of thing, here is a letter to the
editor for our local paper, The Gwinnett Daily Post, in response to Cal
Thomas' editorial entitled "Commandments clash more than a conflict between
church and state".
The original editorial available here:
http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/editorials.html
My Letter:
http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/article276F573E1A1A466F8C20A
9063EE7C48E.asp
Here is the text for those who don't want to look it up.
<snip letter>
Nice letter!
--
John Hachmann, aa #1782
Pierre Laplace, when asked by Napoleon on why he made
no mention of a god in his book on astronomy: "Sire,
I have no need of that hypothesis."
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| User: "J Forbes" |
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| Title: Re: My Letter to Editor |
04 Sep 2003 10:04:27 PM |
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Woden wrote:
For those who are interested in this sort of thing, here is a letter to the
editor for our local paper, The Gwinnett Daily Post, in response to Cal
Thomas' editorial entitled "Commandments clash more than a conflict between
church and state".
Good job....I just didn't have the patience (or the temper) to respond.
I figure that folks who side with Cal are hopeless, and those folks that
are reasonable don't take him very seriously. But he does need to be
put in his place...tnanks.
--
Jim
Visit the Selectric Typewriter Museum!
http://www.mindspring.com/~jforbes2
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