Letters

Required Reading

Rob Boston's "Operation Potomac" article in the October issue should be required reading for our U.S. Supreme Court justices and members of Congress, because it describes a religious blueprint for eroding the Constitution in favor of Middle-Ages mentalities!

Boston's story is alarming because we know the religious zealots are plotting just such a scenario - a school at a time, a neighborhood at a time, state by state, for as long as it takes.

This nation's halls of justice and laws are under siege by organizations every bit as dangerous as those who attacked New York City and Washington.

-Robert S. Corya

Indianapolis, Ind.

Beware Of Home-Grown Tyrants

In his "Operation Potomac" article (October Church & State), Rob Boston hit the nail on the head. The Christian Reconstructionists are America's version of the tyrannical Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and despite their lip service to elections and democracy, they are cut from the same totalitarian cloth as fascism, Nazism, communism and Islamic fundamentalism.

Reconstructionist candidates for political office cover their tracks by stressing non-controversial issues. Their efforts remind one of the early attempts by Hitler and the Nazis in 1920s Germany to appear moderate and reasonable while trying to conceal their true agenda.

Hitler's designs for Germany, Europe and the world were, of course, spelled out in Mein Kampf. Likewise, the Christian Reconstructionists' plans for America are revealed in their many publications such as the Chalcedon Report, and the writings of Rousas Rushdoony and other godfathers of the movement.

Their plan is to replace or drastically alter the Constitution. They would repeal not only the religion clauses of the First Amendment along with the ban on religious tests for public office, but also the ban on cruel and unusual punishments. Those who spread "false" religions would be stoned to death, along with adulterers, homosexuals, incorrigible children and blasphemers. Women would be driven from the workplace and the political arena, and be stripped of the vote.

In light of the fight against terrorism and the theocratic tyranny of the Taliban, it is unconscionable for President Bush's representatives to meet with people who belong in the same boat as the Ku Klux Klan or the Aryan Nation. The same goes for my home state senator, Rick Santorum. He obviously does not know what he is getting into!

-Jerome N. Cragle

Mifflinville, Pa.

Falwell And President Bush

It should never be forgotten that the day after making his despicable remarks about the Sept. 11 attacks ("Backlash To Bigotry," October Church & State), Jerry Falwell attended a memorial service for the victims at the National Cathedral at the invitation of President George W. Bush.

-Brian Cluggish

San Diego, Calif.

Aid To The `Faith-Based' Taliban?

"The Bush administration in May approved a $43 million grant to the Taliban..." I was sure I had read that somewhere. I pulled out my July/August issue of Church & State, and sure enough, there it was on page 18.

From other sources I have read, it seems that from shortly after the "bad guys" (that would be the "godless" Russians) invaded Afghanistan in 1979, up through May of this year, our federal government has both covertly and overtly supported (about $3 billion in direct aid) the noble, religious, "good guys" the Taliban - in Afghanistan. These freedom fighters were going to help their American "friends" end heroin poppy growing in Afghanistan, not to mention helping us secure access for a gas pipeline through the area (see the Oct. 1 issue of Time magazine, page 42). Now, of course, these Taliban "terrorists" are the epitome of all evil in the world.

"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists," says our president. Unfortunately, this simplistic, black and white, good guys vs. bad guys view of the world has the potential of plunging us all into an abyss from which we may never recover. If we are fortunate enough to avoid a catastrophic war, perhaps in the future our government officials will have at least learned to give some consideration to the moral as well as the financial and strategic consequences of their actions, and perhaps not to put so much trust (faith?) in repressive, "faithbased" regimes throughout the world.

-Don Havis

San Mateo, Calif.

Vouchers: Anti-American?

I strongly support Americans United's efforts to challenge the constitutionality of voucher programs that aid religious and other private schools.

Vouchers would make possible the creation of many schools sponsored by any number of anti-American government forces. The radical fundamentalists (Christian and Muslim), militia groups, isolationists, racists, etc. would be lining up for taxpayer money to fund their mission. Isn't that one of the most compelling arguments against vouchers?

When our country had the enormous immigration wave at the turn of the last century, the public schools were the very institutions that allowed the immigrants to assimilate into American culture. The public schools were vital in creating the common ethos that would later help create the world's best, economically sound country. The public schools were also vital in creating the common ethos that instilled in Americans the will to fight Hitler in World War II.