A New Letter to the Editor

The following letter was printed today in the Record newspaper. However, it was edited. This is my unedited version:

In an 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, President Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith and worship… I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion… thus building a wall of separation between church and state.” Our Congressman disagrees. Well, Scott Garrett, you’re no Tom Jefferson.

Rep.Garrett claims that acceptance of the Intelligent Design theory is “growing in scientific communities and academia.” This is an outright lie. ID has gained acceptance only among the right wing religious zealots in America who cannot stand our constitutional separation of church and state. A theory must offer evidence to be considered acceptable. ID offers none. ID is a matter of faith and as Jefferson pointed out, matters of faith are best left to the individual, the family and the church, not the government. Do you want your school board making decisions affecting your child’s religious beliefs?

Due to my work last year, I had to learn a great deal more about Scott Garrett than most of his constituents know. I know him to be a right wing “Christian” who prefers moving toward Theocratic government. I strongly suggest that the 58% of my neighbors who voted for Garrett last fall do some more research on him. You’ll be shocked by what you find.