Burt would like us to believe that he is in some
”
majority
”
in what he is saying here.
Dear Editor,
Burt would like us to believe that he is in some “majority” in what he is saying here. He creates that illusion for himself and for us by the way he uses language. He begins by framing his statements in big categories like “Christianity” and in some idea about this “Christian Nation.” Wow, that is a majority group of people. Burt then hopes that we will now interpret all of his statements as being backed and shared by that majority. The problem is Burt’s statements do not reflect the views of all Christians in this country. I suspect his is a rather minority view.
A big problem with Burt’s argument is that the word “Christian” is far too abstract a word to convey any specific meaning. Burt believes, and hopes we do as well, that there really is the big cohesive unitary group called “Christianity.” But we have all the evidence we need to see that the word Christianity represents a huge diversity of groups, many of whom don’t include many of the others in the category. Even breaking it down to Catholic and Protestant doesn’t do it. Terms like Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian only help a little. The trouble is there are as many versions of Christianity out there as there are minds conceiving of it. So Burt has constructed a fictional “majority” to feel comfortably situated within. But it’s just a feeling.
Burt would also like us to believe that this fictional majority is under siege by big bad “anti-Christian” and “anti-religious” bull dogs called “atheists” and “minority religions.” But isn’t it rather that those minority groups are just trying to NOT be tyrannized by people that think like Burt: people that think that being in a majority (he thinks so) means being able to rule over others? Burt seems to be unaware that this great nation saw fit to write a Constitution designed to protect minorities from being dominated by a majority. That is why we sometimes see laws that have been voted on rejected by the courts: We don’t just get to vote our way into tyranny over a minority. Burt’s mindset is proof of just how wise our Founding Fathers were in creating that protection. Fortunately, despite Burt’s denial of the existence of the principle of separation of church and state in the constitution, the secular among us have taken refuge under the Constitution, which has repeatedly come to our defense when such efforts have been attempted. (Insert “activist judge” argument here – like clockwork).
I’m happy that Burt gets a public platform for his minority views. But I’d be less happy if we never saw these abuses of language go unchallenged in like fashion. That isn’t trying to “abolish (your) beliefs.” That is just the American way.
Stephen Daly, Morgan Hill
Columnist missed the point regarding separation of church and state
Dear Editor:
Regarding Mr. Anderson’s latest self-righteous diatribe, please allow me to offer just two observations:
First, it is truly sad to see the publication of such thoroughly erroneous characterization of the religious views of our Founding Fathers; Mr. Anderson either knows nothing about American history of the time or reads only material skewed to his preconceptions (for example, Washington and L’Enfant, along with the rest of the American leaders of the time, were “religious” only in the most general sense of the term; they preferred to think of themselves as “enlightened humanists.”).
Second, how in the world does he get off claiming, as he explicitly does several times, that a belief in God makes one a Judeo-Christian? Is he so unaware of the world around him that he genuinely believes only Jews and Christians believe in a supreme being?
While claiming that God is the key to understanding what America is all about, he also says that “minority religions should never have authority over our majority” thus removing from consideration all the adherents of “minority religions” who also believe in God.
Hitler started Germany down a slippery slope when he took a very similar tack with Jews in the ’30s. If the majority of Americans really believe the lies, distortions, and prejudices trumpeted in his column then we are not the nation the Founding Fathers actually had in mind.
Robert Mitchell, Morgan Hill
A new jewel of a restaurant recently opened in downtown Morgan Hill
Dear Editor,
I’m not sure if this is the right place to express my comment but would like to share a little secret with Morgan Hill residents.
We have a new restaurant in downtown, Sangria’s!
I would like to share our experience today. The service was great and the food was great, great, great! I could hear the blender in the kitchen making the fresh sauce for our dishes.
I suggest Morgan Hill residents to check this restaurant out now as I think there will be a long wait in the future!
Frank & Linda Gardner, Morgan Hill
