Inside September 23, 2003's Issue

Letter to the editor.....

Editor's Box

By Sam Chapman
[email protected]
Editor

The separation of church and state is a complicated subject. Some believe God to be the ultimate leader and lawmaker of the land of the free. Others do not. Personally, I believe there is no true answer that can work out the argument for either. America has become such a complicated place to live that the only way to balance both desires of obeying the law, whether handed down by a supernatural being or by the government, is to be somewhat respectful of both theories. The fact that people have enough faith in something to try and sway another's belief is wonderful, but everyone has the natural right to say no and that right should be respected.

I, however, do not want to live in a world governed by rules and regulations of something that I cannot, at the least, petition or protest to. Religion is something that should be kept personal. I realize that it can be a part of someone's faith to try to convert others and to spread the word of God, but to base a governmental institution on something that is not physically there, to state that a bond of marriage between homosexuals is legally wrong, sodomy is legally wrong, experimenting with �impure� substances is legally wrong, and in some cases, not confessing your sins will be a burden on someone's life and or afterlife is ridiculous. It is great that some people believe that if they live a �good� and morally honest life that they will be rewarded, but to take away someone else's right to get married or to make having any kind of sexual relations with whom ever they desire illegal is, in my opinion, discrimination.

As stated earlier, respect for everyone's personal freedom to live a chosen lifestyle is what I think more people should practice than preach. Religion is good crowd control, and religion itself is not the problem, but when some have the authority to impose religiously moralistic laws on others, then it takes away the rights of others and that is a problem.

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