Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Break the Silence
Many members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community are not aware that, no matter how conservative they may think the Pennsylvania legislature can be, the law in this commonwealth protects household members and sexual or intimate partners [Cover, "Uncivil Unions," Juliet Fletcher, March 24, 2005]. No distinction has been made in the Protection from Abuse Act limiting such protection to heterosexual couples. Many people think this law only applies to married couples. I hope that Fletcher's article will help educate members of the GLBT so that this issue gets "out of the closet."
Michael L. Viola, Esq.
Co-chair, Pennsylvania Bar Association Gay and Lesbian Rights Committee

God Freak Outs
The folks you wrote about [News, "Losing Your Religion," Doron Taussig, March 24, 2005] are not really atheists they're anti-theists. An atheist is a person who lives on the presumption there is no God (because, obviously, there's no way to prove that something doesn't exist). It is not a person who seems to challenge religion. (Does liking the Sixers mean you must hate the Celtics? Yes, for the ignorant. No for the enlightened.)

The folks you wrote about spend their time finding fault with religion and in the process have committed themselves to a life of resentment, hate and loneliness. Then they meet in a convention to find validation from others with the same style of "we know better" thinking. I'm an atheist, since 12, and I don't recall ever thinking that religion is evil, nor am I threatened by it, nor can I tell you any time I was discriminated against.

What's the difference to me what reason/motivation people use to strive to live a moral and responsible life? What's the difference if they find salvation in an all-powerful father figure or brick on the sidewalk? Being happy is more important than being right.
Randy M. Zeitman
via e-mail

If an atheist's vehicle or property is damaged by an act of G-D, can they collect on the insurance?
Art Miller
via e-mail

If people understood how non-Christian — that is, not believing in the divinity of Jesus — most of our most important [Founding Fathers] (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Paine) plus Lincoln were, they might be more tolerant of atheists.
Elkan Katz
Center City

I completely agree that there should be a separation of church and state. I want God off of my currency, and out of public schools, courthouses and politics. I came to the conclusion that there was no God after a Catholic education that culminated in a degree from a Jesuit liberal arts university. My aetheism was rather militant at first — I looked for arguments, and I tried to "convert" people to my way of thinking until I realized that my reaction to religion was just as ridiculous as the religion itself. I now consider myself "posttheist." It just doesn't enter my mind anymore. It is no longer a part of my life.

There is something very freeing to the realization that you are living a good life as a good person because it is the right thing to do, and not because you are afraid of God and want everlasting life. It seems to me that an organized atheism is just as crazy as what atheism is counter to.
Michael McTigue
Northern Liberties

Now we have an activist group standing up for oppressed atheists? What a bunch of crybabies. I "came out" as an atheist to my family in 1998. My father is an evangelical Pentecostal minister who is now stationed in Mozambique as a missionary, and I completely understand and empathize with the stories shared by people in your article. It can be hard to share that sort of thing with your family, especially if their response is that you can look forward to eternity "burning in hell." But I think it might be taking it a bit too far to rail against anti-atheist oppression.

Atheists have science, sense, philosophy and truth on their side and all theists have is their imaginary friend and the nebulous non-word "God" on the currency. Isn't it enough that we atheists have our Sabbaths free to sleep in and the 10 percent tithe which would have made it into church coffers to spend on books and beer? C'mon people — where's the downside?

Greek mythology was all the rage, too, for while, but then people figured out it was best just to keep the cool stories and dismiss the rest as fiction. Christianity, Judaism and Islam will go the same way.
Philip Willis
via e-mail

You, Sir, Are No Jeff Gannon
I knew Jeff Gannon — aka J.D. Guckert — yesterday, I know him today, and I will know him tomorrow [This Modern World, Tom Tomorrow, March 24, 2005]. Please get your facts straight. J.D. is a very good person. He lent me money when I was making $29,000 a year working for the Quakers, he gave me his dishes, he gave me a lamp, which lights my bedroom at night and on dreary days, oh, and yes, a bed. When he left for Washington, D.C. to start a new life, he did just that. It is not wise for anyone to throw stones or point fingers. You can make fun all you want, but he is a good man and good friend. These are the facts that do not get printed anywhere. I am not sure if you are from Philadelphia, but we who were born, raised and work in this great city respect each other, love each other and help each other when we are down.
Patrick Manion
Philadelphia

Clarification
In [Loose Canon, "Garage Invasion," Bruce Schimmel, March 31, 2005], it could be inaccurately inferred that owners of new construction in Philadelphia would pay no real-estate taxes on their property. Under the city's 10-year Tax Abatement Program, residential owners pay no additional taxes for a decade on an increase in property valuation because of new construction.

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