Letters for October 25, 2001

God and patriots
In this time of “war,” teachers and other school officials have decided that patriotism now includes believing in God. All over the country, “God Bless America” placards are appearing in classrooms and other public institutions. This opinion has appeared at my son’s public school, and a teacher told me that this is a patriotic statement, not a religious one.

I disagree. Would anyone care if I put up a “Goddess Bless America” bumper sticker next to the God one? Maybe I think that’s patriotic. And what about atheists? Are they unpatriotic because they don’t believe in God?

When I talk to people about the importance of keeping a separation of church and state, they act as if it’s no big deal. People are more concerned about the premiere show of Survivor than whether their country will become one led by religion rather than the Constitution. Doesn’t the Taliban rule by religion?

We need to watch our civil liberties during these times and stand together to protect the freedoms that do make America a great country. If someone wants to show their patriotism at school, a number of other slogans are available and can be used that don’t mention God. We need to keep religion out of public institutions for the sake of every individual’s beliefs on this matter.

Rebecca Yarrow
Durham

Just plain stupid
Cicero remarked that, “Great nations are destroyed not from the barbarians outside, but from the civilized people within.” Tom Gascoyne [“Reverse PC,” Inside view, Sept. 27] would certainly give this perception credibility. His claim that the Bush administration has installed a “reverse PC” is ludicrous at best and otherwise just plain stupid.

Joseph Stalin birthed political correctness. It has been embraced by the left as “gospel” and obviously collides with the American gospel of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The socialist demagogues of the left, whether Stalin, Marx or Clinton, have been vociferous about the fabric of thought, speech and ideas permissible in culture.

Gascoyne takes the statement by the president that “you are with us or with the terrorists” as proof that a new intolerance (fascism) has begun. He astonishingly omits that the statement is made in response to an act of war.

Something very similar happened in Britain when Nazis began stealth attacks in neighboring countries. The left and pacifists alike were oppositional to responding. George Orwell, the writer, sums it up best: “Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist.” This is elementary common sense. If you hamper the war effort of one side, you automatically help out that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, “He that is not with me is against me.”

Fascism? From Orwell’s viewpoint, and history itself, Gascoyne is pro-fascist and the CN&R its mouthpiece. Let’s all keep the CN&R position in mind when the next 500 or 5,000 or 50,000 American civilians are murdered.

Joseph Dudan
Durham

No fairness in court
Recently, at a trial for a jaywalking offense I was cited for, the judge blatantly said he was unable to use common sense or discretion in his decision-making process. The judge scoffed at the mention of using “fairness.” He seemed disturbed that a citizen should even think that he had the right to come into his court and express an opinion in regard to the Chico PD’s priorities or techniques, or that the opinion be considered in deciding the outcome of the case.

The judge said he is “presented with facts [from the Police Department] and cannot use such criteria as fairness.” The judge basically acts as a rubber stamp for the Police Department’s busts. The old adage of “tell it to the judge” is antiquated and no longer appropriate in our judiciary.

Just watch out for the police predators lurking in the shadows and at the street corners for petty-offense citations. It does no good to tell it to them when they are out on a revenue enhancement sting. Jay-walking fine (bail): $76.

Scott Love
Chico

Guns for all
Disarming airline passengers by using metal detectors, profiling, etc., failed to stop the hijackings on Sept. 11. Let’s try the opposite strategy. Arm passengers so that they can protect themselves against highjackers armed with plastic or glass knives. Issue qualified passengers a small revolver as they board. Qualified passengers would carry picture ID, issued by law enforcement to adults who have completed training by the National Rifle Association or in military service in the use of firearms and have been cleared by the FBI. These armed passengers would constitute “a well-regulated militia … necessary to the security of a free state…” (Second Amendment to the Constitution).

Bill McCord
Chico

The baseball bible
The only thing that amazed me more than the anti-American sentiment coming from Professor Wrong was the number of people who supported his twisted view. Where were you people when Bill Clinton decided to bomb Iraq just to try to divert our attention away from his legal problems with that whore Monica Lewinsky? You spineless jellyfish out there had better wake up and smell the anthrax. We are not at war with a country. We are fighting pure evil. The terrorists who perpetrated this crime against America are not religious zealots. They are not fighting a “holy war.” They are pure 200-proof distilled scum. They are rabid animals that need to be put to sleep.

I’m sure that if this atrocious act had happened a little closer to Chico, our local liberals wouldn’t be trying to play it off so much. I don’t care what religion you are. This has nothing to do with religion. If you boil down the Bible, or the preachings of any other religion, you will come up with essentially the same message from any one of them. That message is: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” The terrorists did unto us first. If we are to play the game, then, it is our turn to do unto the terrorists.

All I can say is, batter up.

Scot Houghton
Received via e-mail

Stop the cycle
Once you destroy the infrastructure of a country with bombs, larger populations will no longer be able to live there due to the lack of basic necessities and disease. As in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of innocent people will die.

Until the conditions that daily “create” terrorists are addressed, our grandchildren’s grandchildren will be fighting this new “war,” if they are still around. Our government can change basic policy conditions. Stop supporting repressive and militaristic governments. Stop sending troops into countries where they are not wanted. Stop being the largest arms dealer in the world.

We as a people can start sharing our wealth with other countries.

Norm Dillinger
Chico