Jefferson wanted to keep the state out of church Re: “Boehner’s Catholic school subsidy bridges church and state,” March 17
It is a common falsehood that “separation of church and state” appears in our Constitution. Over the years, this notion has been taken out of context and misconstrued.
The idea originated from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802 in response to the Danbury Baptists, who felt they were being unfairly persecuted by not being allowed public demonstrations. Jefferson responded by declaring that the legislature should build “a wall of separation” between church and state to keep the government out of the church, not vice versa.
Two days later, Jefferson (a deist) attended a church service at the capital as he did every Sunday, a practice that was continued until after the Civil War. These services were acceptable to Jefferson because they were voluntary and included preachers from many denominations.
Troy Murphy
Washington
Libyan intervention leaves unanswered questions
Both sides in the Libyan conflict seem to be disingenuous. Mr. Gadhafi simultaneously proclaimed a cease-fire while attacking Benghazi. On the other hand, the rebels are obviously not all innocent civilians, although one would never know that from the Pentagon briefing.
U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice never answered three important questions from reporters. One was whether the rebels in Benghazi are “combatants” or “innocent civilians.” Our Tomahawk missiles were simply said to be protecting the city without acknowledging that many hiding there fought against Gadhafi.
The second question was whether the coalition’s goal wasn’t really “regime change” rather than just “protecting innocent civilians.” But why else would the coalition insist Gadhafi withdraw from towns he had already won, which he plainly could not do without conceding defeat?
The third question was whether the coalition was applying a double standard by not likewise seeking regime changes in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Israel, whose regimes have also killed “innocent civilians.” Perhaps patriotism explains the lack of follow-up questions. But we should not blind ourselves to what is actually happening.
J. Thomas Rosch
Alexandria
Like Bart Simpson, U.S. never learns its lesson
The decision to attack Libya reminds me of Lisa Simpson putting electrodes in a cupcake to see whether her brother, Bart, or a hamster would be the first to decide not to touch it.
One shock and the hamster figures it out. But Bart keeps grabbing the cupcake and over and over.
Jim McDonald
Alexandria
