Online-only Letters

Religious backlash

Morality not dependent on religion

Editor, The Times:

David Klinghoffer's plea for acceptance of his God is as flawed as his compatriots' arguments for intelligent design. All humans live by a moral code, but morality doesn't require religion, and that's Klinghoffer's fatal error. [ "Hot lead, summer in the city", guest commentary, Aug. 3]

There's no argument regarding the moral precepts: universal in substance and accepted as ideals by normal, law abiding people. Even atheists, scapegoats of organized religion, subscribe to these moral concepts.

Every religious text is absolutely true to its adherents, and likewise false to nonadherents, thus Islam is just as viable as Judaism or Catholicism, each touting its own system. Yet punishment by an imaginary deity is not a universally accepted concept, nor is there universal acceptance of the God of the Bible.

There's little acceptance for Klinghoffer's implied suggestion that all adopt his Judeo-Christian deity and everything will be just fine. A pipe dream of religious (or political) fundamentalists in America, and elsewhere, forced acceptance always brings despotism, even if based in religion.

There will always be humans who do not abide by accepted moral codes, but that's life, tragic as it might be. Ideally, we all must practice a moral code, hopefully universally accepted, but there is no requirement, nor need, for a morality-enforcing deity.

-- David Kerchner, Kirkland

Relocate

I write in response to David Klinghoffer's scolding about our city's woes and how they can be cured by strict adherence to the Bible.

Let's ignore the odiousness of the suggestion that all of us, regardless of religion, should follow the rules of the Christian Bible and the thinly veiled code language of statements like "there to sell crack" and "mentally disturbed loafers" and concentrate on the biggest problem with his screed: its absurdity.

Seattle has its problems -- traffic and overcrowding come to mind -- but it is hardly known for being crime-ridden. Klinghoffer's hearsay examples do little to convince otherwise. If he objects to conditions here so much, may I suggest that he move to another city. Perhaps he would find a city in a more pious part of the country more to his liking. Might I suggest Memphis (with a murder rate 4.2 times Seattle's), Birmingham (8.7 times more murder), or Atlanta (4.4 times more). Mr. Klinghoffer, do not create a problem where there isn't one just to further your own proselytizing. I suggest that you worry about your own salvation and let the rest of us worry about ours.

-- Steven Walzer, Mercer Island

A history lesson

Religious propagandist David Klinghoffer asserts that the Bible inspired the founding of the United States, and is the source of morality. He is wrong on both counts.

The Code of Hammurabi preceded the Ten Commandments as a codification of conduct, and that code was preceded by the evolution of Homo sapiens as a social species that depended upon cooperation for survival -- the source of morality.

It was not the Bible that inspired the Founding Fathers, who had seen religion foster so much intemperance and accord monarchy the divine right of kings, but rather the European enlightenment that rolled back religious dogmatism and oppression, augmented by the history of democracies in Greece and Rome.

Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, negotiated late in the George Washington administration, signed by President John Adams and ratified unanimously by the U.S. Senate, states: "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion … ." Those who put this treaty into place were first generation Americans, who certainly understood the inspiration for the founding.

How is it that those who trumpet the Ten Commandments so frequently violate the commandment that prohibits bearing of false witness?

-- Randall Johnson, Redmond

Beautiful killers

Disguising the violence

Have you ever visited the weapons museum at the Tower of London? If not, and you have a chance to, do.

Notice the "aestheticized" weapons and armor there: gold filigree on swords and hatchets and helmets. Rich men loved those things, and built an industry to provide them.

Have you ever watched the Blue Angels? Young men, trained by the numbers, with incredible skills with expensive weapons designed, when you think about it, for killing. For what else than killing: Entertaining crowds?

Two of my sons acutely caught the "Blue Angel Disease." Both grew out of it, and I am so very grateful.

-- Halstead Harrison, Mercer Island

Cool coast

Washington's political problem

I read "Session ends with chaotic marathon" [Local News, Aug. 6]with a chuckle.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Lake Stevens, expressed a desire to return to Washington, where it's politically cooler.

Let's face it, what he means is here it has been much easier for Democrats to manipulate votes with the help of ACORN, dead people, felons, illegal immigrants, etc.

-- Elaine Solberg

The face of a threat

Slipping through our hands

Terapon Adhahn slipped away from local authorities twice, but he also slipped away from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). [ "Adhahn had slipped away twice," Local News, Aug 2].

Why didn't ICE track this convicted sexual predator instead of counting on local law enforcement to do so? If he were a Muslim male, would someone at ICE have paid attention?

-- Linda H. Thom, Coupeville

Shouldering the burden

Caring for the masses

In "Pasco's rising Hispanic tide," [Local News, July 29] the strength of diversity was touted while the financial pitfalls were lamented.

The article said that most of the tax base was residential, yet that was not enough to pay for the education of all the children in the new homes that are being built. The city manager said that the city and county could not sustain the fast growth pace indefinitely.

Nowhere in the article did I see anything about the percentage of the community that is here illegally.

Yet, the intimation of the article was that other tax sources would be sought to pay for this burgeoning community to survive. My guess is that the people who have to pay the tax will not be consulted on this issue, and will not be the ones benefiting from it.

-- Ann Parker, Portland, Ore.

Hidden infrastructure

All too important

Letter writer Ed Nichols seems to think that providing health care to the children of Washington state should take a back seat to repairing our physical infrastructure [ "A deadly deference," Northwest Voices, Aug. 7].

I agree that our bridges and highways need to be made as safe as possible, but I think if we changed how we spend our tax dollars, we could easily provide good health care for all, and still have plenty of money for maintaining all of our physical infrastructure

And I urge Nichols to consider that the health -- physical and emotional -- of all the children of our nation is an even more important kind of infrastructure that needs supporting, for us all to have a better future.

We've squandered billions (soon to be trillions) on an unnecessary invasion, yet every time a program with proven social benefits like Head Start comes up for refunding, those who put their faith in weapons instead of children try to eliminate even that small amount of social spending.

Yes, I know that some believe that military spending keeps us "secure." I think they're mistaken, and that the overwhelming evidence shows that all that waste of treasure has produced precious little "national security," while increasing the overall suffering of all. We deny families at home the support they need, while also destroying families in places like Iraq.

As writer James Baldwin famously said: "For they are all our children, and we will profit by, or pay for, what they become." What might this country look like if we defined "national security" as seeing to it that every child in this country gets off to the best possible start in life, and that every family in this country is supported in achieving that end?

-- Sandy Mitchell, Bainbridge Island

Late night in Seattle

Padlocking doesn't solve the problem

"How other cities handle clash of clubs and condos"[Local News, Aug 7] is misleading. Bars don't operate in downtown Seattle with "few restrictions."

While Seattle could beef up its noise ordinances, it largely already has the laws necessary to combat problem establishments -- fire codes, building codes, conduct codes, health codes, liquor regulations, etc. These are important for the safety of nightlife patrons, but can be a regulatory nightmare for small-business owners. Adding an extra license to this is unnecessary, and has proved to be an ineffective tool to combat street noise.

New York is used as one of the comparative examples in the article. Even with their cabaret license, noise on the street continues to be a problem in nightlife areas where the police have less of a presence. This isn't rocket science. While businesses that break the law should be accountable, the ability to immediately padlock a place is not going to magically make people behave better as they bar hop to the place next door.

Police on the streets will make people behave better. If the mayor knows which businesses are over-serving and which areas are hotbeds for disorderly conduct, he should take action. Mayor Greg Nickels has the tools to do a lot more than take a heavy-handed stroll through Pioneer Square.

-- Don Blakeney, New York, N.Y.