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Today's Letters: Religious voices have contributed much

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published March 21, 2007

Religion spiced with politics March 17, story  

We should never forget the fact that religious voices have spoken out loudly against slavery, poverty and political and social oppression from pulpit to street assembly, as they do now about homelessness, inequitable education and abortion. Law professor Rob E. Atkinson Jr. might want to portray their involvement in great public debates as an unlawful trend which must be muzzled, but few others should.

Western democracy owes much to those who believed and preached a God-based love of neighbor, which had incalculable manifestations. These include political recognition of the fact that people have "unalienable rights" "endowed by their Creator."

We silence those voices at our peril.

Joe Magri, Belleair

Free to speak out

The separation of church and state simply means that the government has no right to interfere with religion or the free exercise thereof. This came to fruition to keep government out of religious affairs.

Simply put, Bishop Robert N. Lynch, just like any other minister or lay person, has the perfect right to exercise his free right of religion by speaking out against anything that he believes to be an injustice.

We are all given the right of free speech, and we are all given the freedom to exercise our religion, which includes speaking out regarding what we believe to be right or wrong.

"Let freedom ring - including the church bells!"

Peter Wohlfelder, St. Petersburg

Religion spiced with politics March 17, story

Tax exemptions are unconstitutional aid

Regarding the article on religious organizations flouting the laws involving their tax-exempt status, this is basically a federal matter involving some subjectivity. Closer to home and crystal clear is the scheme by which billions of dollars are illegally transferred to religion in direct violation of Florida law, specifically, the Florida Constitutio, which reads in Article 1, Section 3. - Religious Freedom: "No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution. Emphasis added.

Is there an honest person anywhere who doesn't think that giving religious organizations billions of dollars in exemptions on real estate and sales taxes is not a taking from the public treasury? How much longer will "religious freedom" include looting the public treasury in direct violation of the Florida Constitution?

I call on Bishop Robert N. Lynch and every other citizen in the state to join us in insisting that Florida abide by its laws and enforce Article 1, Section 3, which is wisely included in our Constitution.

Joe Reinhardt, president, Atheists of Florida Inc., Pinellas Park

Serve the poor

As a follower of Jesus and a leader of the Catholic Church, Bishop Robert Lynch lives out his baptismal faith in calling for the Pinellas County government to shoulder its responsibility for the least among us. The bishop makes his case on solid biblical grounds (read Matthew 25). He also is grounded in the bedrock of Catholic social teaching.

Today's prophets, which Christ summons all his followers to be, may be as unpopular. But the word must be spoken to the powerful - when they ignore the poor and the powerless. It must be spoken, not merely for the benefit of the voiceless, but for the salvation of the powerful themselves.

The Pinellas County commissioners would do well to revisit their priorities for the Penny for Pinellas funds in light of the Gospel and Bishop Lynch's pertinent reminder. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

Fr. Dan Kreutzer, Tampa

Religion spiced with politics March 17, story

ID that dog

Staff writer Sherri Day writes of the churches speaking out on social justice and quotes FSU law professor Rob E. Atkinson Jr. He compares Bishop Robert N. Lynch to a schoolboy facing a very mean junk yard dog on a chain.

To continue the analogy, what if the boy were trying to rescue the homeless from the junk yard? Then who are the barking dogs, and who is so intent on keeping the junk yard?

Tom Spillett, Dunedin

Tighter security surrounds airport workers March 14, story

TSA goes too far

I am a ramp agent at Tampa International Airport, and I do not agree with the Transportation Security Administration searching airport employees on their way to work.

Yes, there have been violations of security by two people at one airport. So hammer them hard. Make examples of them. Don't punish everyone.

Airport employees have the privilege of bypassing the security checkpoint for one important reason: We had to go through an FBI background check and a TSA background check to get our airport IDs. The TSA screening employees as they report to work means those background checks were a complete waste of time, energy and money for all concerned.

If they do insist on the policy of screening airport employees, then policy needs to change. I can understand screening for weapons, because we're not supposed to have them, but that's where the screening needs to stop. Airport employees are not flying and should not be held to the same standard as passengers. Confiscating employees' cigarette lighters, pocket knives and butter knives from lunch boxes does nothing to improve the already illusory nature of aviation security.

The TSA also is short-handed for screening passengers, so the extra staff needed for screening employees would be a further waste of already thinly stretched personnel.

And through all of this the question has to be asked: Who watches the watchers?

Flag hangs; group fumes March 17, story

Let art spur debate

On Friday some people brought their children to the Brogan Museum to enjoy our first day of spring camp. The fact that members of our community entrust us with their children is of paramount importance.

Members of the "Capital Press Corps" came on that same day to report on one organization's desire to remove one artist's work from the Brogan galleries. During the nine years I have been at the Brogan Museum, none of the hundreds of artists who have been featured (including Monet and Picasso) have ever focused the eyes of the community (indeed the nation) on the Brogan as has John Sims.

Our nation's First Amendment rights give artists the privilege to express themselves in all manners. Art has served as a cultural reflection of the times for all times. What does the reaction to the work of John Sims say about our community? Are we intolerant of others' views or will we embrace the opportunity to share our perspectives?

If you get to see the exhibition AfroProvocations, talk to your friends about it. Talk to your children about it. Talk to me about it. When we talk, we will discover what we have in common. Would members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans be surprised if I shared with them a photo of an ancestor in a Confederate uniform?

My point is no art, not even the work of John Sims, is an insult to anyone. It's not about you or your ancestors. John Sims' art is about the artist's perspective. If his art stirred you, created emotion within you, it did exactly what art is meant to do.

Chucha Barber, executive director, the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Tallahassee

He's Gov. Lean, and here's how he stays that way March 18, story

A better diet

A diet of Red Bull and a vitamin pill is not the example to set for the children of Florida, nor is it a diet that will promote long-term health and fitness.

If Gov. Charlie Crist is sincere about being a role model for good nutrition, perhaps he should consult with a licensed and registered dietitian. With a plan that includes the foods that he needs and the ones that he can't live without, he could experience the energy that comes from a nutrient-rich diet and a 100 percent fad-free lifestyle - and become a credible advocate for the nutritional health of our children.

Nadine Pazder, Largo

[Last modified March 20, 2007, 21:22:40]