It is ridiculous that the local atheists are feeling so downtrodden. Norman Hall’s epicene fears are quite honestly laughable. He seems to think that just because the President is a born-again Christian his very way of life is in jeopardy. As if President Bush’s re-election will suddenly trigger an animalistic hatred in the President that will cause him to hunt down and trample on the rights of the American atheists (or at the very least, hurt their feelings).

     First of all, if these overly sensitive folks want to move out of the country, that’s fine with me. I’m not going to miss them, and I’m sure many other Americans won’t shed a tear when the sniveling atheists flee to another country. For people who don’t believe in a god, they are ready to nail themselves to the cross of self-pity as Jeff Archer’s quote so eloquently makes clear: “Atheists are now at the bottom of the barrel in American society. At least that’s how we feel.” The poor dears; their petty whining almost makes you feel bad for them. Almost.

     Mr. Archer goes on to complain that Christians have been waging war with atheists for the past 20 years. It would occur to any rational person that Christians haven’t been fighting a war against anybody; they’ve simply been defending their constitutional rights. It is the atheists who want to remove the cross from Mt. Soledad. It is the atheists who took prayer out of school (unless you’re praying to someone other than Jesus), and it is the atheists who will not rest until every trace of Christianity is outlawed, destroyed or hidden away somewhere so they’ll never have to be bothered by it again. The Christians are simply responding to attacks by uppity atheists who just can’t stand the thought of someone actually having faith in the divine.

     That’s how the religious freedoms in America work – I’ll believe what I want, and you believe what you want. If atheists have the right to deny the existence of a deity, then anyone else has the right to believe in a deity. That should settle the issue but atheists can’t seem to leave well enough alone.

     And just why shouldn’t creationism be taught in schools? After all, evolution hasn’t been proven as a scientific fact. The last time I had the theory of evolution crammed down my throat in a college classroom, it was still a theory. No matter how much people want to believe that evolution is a cold hard fact, the truth is, it just hasn’t been proven as such. It’s only fair then, to teach all the major theories that explain how our great world came to be. If the atheists are so certain we evolved, then why are they so afraid of another theory? Lighten up guys, have some faith in your ideas – scratch that, I’m sure faith is a problem for you too.

     Susi Reed said “I’m scared to death about what may happen” now that President Bush has been re-elected. What is there to be so scared about? Surely she remembers President Bush has already been in office for four years. What did he do so far that would indicate he has malevolent plans in store for the atheists of America? If there were any atheists burned at the stake under orders from President Bush, I didn’t hear about it. President Bush isn’t going to force his beliefs on anyone, because he understands how religious freedom works.

     Andy Pavelchek is not “afraid to wear my atheism on my sleeve” and even has a bumper sticker. The balls on that guy must be huge considering the risk he’s taking. I mean, we all know how often it is in these modern times that Christians form angry mobs bent on attacking anyone with the guts to be openly atheistic. Apparently, what the atheists fear are discussions that may lead to confrontations over religion. What a threat. Telling someone you’re not interested in what they have to say is usually enough to convince them to leave you alone. At least no one is taking you to court for your religious beliefs.

     Once again, atheists are uptight about nothing. They’re not being persecuted, their rights aren’t at risk, and the President isn’t out to get them. If all they have to fear is a concocted, paranoid supposition, they ought to feel a little silly for all the fuss they’re making.

By: Paul Galicki