Reading the opinion section of the local newspaper... it's usually a waste because I end up thinking and ranting about the rantings there. Here's a letter though, that shows how people like to put ideas into the minds of others....

Show tolerance for beliefs of others

There are those few who would like to rid society of patriotism and any reference to Christianity, to whom I say, you in fact are the ones who need to show tolerance.

You are the ones who should realize that it is far better to pray next to someone who prays differently from you rather than to stop others from praying at all.

There are those few who would like to burn the American flag or ban the Pledge of Allegiance, to whom I say, you in fact are the ones who are treading on the rights of others.

To those who would fight to erase patriotism and Christianity from America's heritage, I say that you in fact should not expect to impose your intolerance on others.

As for those who do nothing in response, one day you will look back with extreme sorrow on the time when you had the chance to defend that in which you believed and that which was inherently good, yet let it be taken away.

Rid society of patriotism? This person would have us believe that everyone that doesn't think as they do is unpatriotic, and then suggest that tolerance is needed by those that aren't christian. How is it that christians get special treatment, that some think christians have a right to change the constitution based on the way they see things?

It is better to pray next to someone that prays differently than to stop others from praying. Nobody wants to stop anyone else from praying. It's when it is forced on others that it becomes a problem. Another of my scenarios... a child is in a classroom, surrounded by other children with their palms pressed together, heads bowed. This child has been taught at home that praying is unnecessary, but feels compelled to go along and pray simply due to peer pressure. This is how religion works on people, forcing others to see things as they do by leaving them outcast if they do not. This is the real goal of having prayer in classrooms - the goal is not to give all the right to pray in class, but to have those that pray influence those that don't, make them feel as outsiders, pressure them into going along. Prayer can be done at any time, just because the law might say one cannot pray as a group in school doesn't mean that one is not allowed to pray. Doesn't the bible specify that there is a time for everything? In school it is time for learning, it is not an appropriate place for group prayer. It in fact creates a hostile environment for those that do not pray, for they are affected by the conflict caused by the need to belong with the need to follow one's heart.

As far as the flag burning thing is concerned. There are very few in this country that feel the need to burn the flag, but it isn't the issue as some would have us believe. The issue is the right to burn the flag. A people prohibited from burning the flag is akin to a people that are part of a totalitarian state, people that are told what and when to think. It isn't about being able to burn the flag, it's about the government having the ability to tell someone they can't. And banning the Pledge of Allegiance? Nobody wants to ban it. Someone just wants to the reference to someone else's god omitted. I for one think it's a stupid cause. It's there, people should deal with it. If I feel the need to recite the thing, and don't like the phrase, I will keep my mouth shut and skip it. It's that simple.

This one really irks me...

To those who would fight to erase patriotism and Christianity from America's heritage, I say that you in fact should not expect to impose your intolerance on others.

This person implies that someone that doesn't practice christianity is unpatriotic, and wants to eradicate patriotism, along with christianity, altogether. This is pure bullshit. That's just like someone associating atheism with immorality.

And then in the last part they talk about looking back one day and wishing we had done things differently because christianity was taken away. This is pure bunk too, because nobody is trying to take away christianity.

This letter is a lot like the propaganda used to subvert those that don’t follow christian doctrine. It promotes the assumption that there is a connection between christianity and patriotism, and implies that if one is not christian, one is unpatriotic as well.