Dear Editor

I guess letters to the editor are part of the American way, but I am beginning to wonder if they should be continued in local newspapers. It appears that they are becoming much more critical - actually nasty. And it appears to me that those who write them generally fall into certain categories - liberals who defend liberal ideas and denounce conservatives; Ultraconservatives who attack liberals; Special interest activists promoting their causes; Anti-Christians who attack Christian beliefs; Folks who just want to be heard or whose elevators don't reach to the second floor. For example, last week in the Lancaster Sunday News there were letters defending Obama and Pelosi while blaming Bush for all of our problems. That's a regular theme. It was worse prior to the election. There was another letter condemning Republican Congressman Pitts, saying he should not take his salary. There was a letter chastising parents for not having their children ready at the bus stop. I guess the writer must be in a hurry. Of course, maybe she could leave earlier to avoid the buses. There was also a letter saying that a local elementary school could be kept open if the history department were eliminated. I never knew that an elementary school even had a history department. The writer probably failed history when she was in school. But I guess that is "past history". There was also another letter condemning Michael Vick. Writers have trouble with the concept of forgiveness. Fortunately there weren't any letters this week defending gay rights or condemning the county commissioners for eliminating the Human Relations Commission to prevent another tax increase. But there was a letter criticizing comments made by a local Christian pastor. Here is part of what the writer had to say. "If he (the pastor) were to read Bart Ehrman's books about how the early Bible writers - most long after Christ's death - produced wildly different stories about Christ and his relation to us, he might change his mind, but I doubt it. He might adopt the Beiswenger hypothesis and search for the atemporal particle in our neurons that constitutes our soul; that's not much different from his Bible story. Yes, we've all been afraid of dying, but we shouldn't be afraid of being dead, because death is the price of evolution, and we all must recycle our atoms back to the earth. The false hope and threat of the hereafter is encouraged by the princes and by the priests like Steve Cornell. Its principal use is mind control. Live a good life, and live it in the here and now. That much we know." I wonder if the writer's viewpoint will change moments after he dies. Then my favorite - the Sunday before Thanksgiving - defending the poor turkey. Here is part of what the writer had to say. "The 270 million turkeys killed in the U.S. each year have nothing to give thanks for. They breathe toxic fumes in crowded sheds. Their beaks and toes are severed. At the slaughter-house, workers cut their throats and dump them into boiling water, sometimes still conscious. Consumers, too, pay a heavy price. Turkey flesh is laced with cholesterol and saturated fats that elevate the risk of chronic killer diseases. Labels warn of food poisoning potential. This Thanksgiving, our dinner may include a "tofurky," lentil roast, mashed potatoes, corn stuffing, stuffed squash, chestnut soup, candied yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and carrot cake. An Internet search on vegan Thanksgiving and a visit to my local supermarket will provide me more recipes and delicious turkey alternatives than I can possibly use." I can't believe that the writer would actually eat all those products which were grown, ripped from the earth, scraped, stuffed into small packages, and finally boiled and cooked. Those poor plants were once alive. Oh well, I enjoyed my turkey at Thanksgiving and I hope that you did too. It was delicious. Sorry turkeys. Now maybe I am wrong about the letters. Maybe they should be continued. Often they are funnier than the comics! But I did learn a few lessons from last Sunday's letters. We must live life in the here and now because past history isn't really important and the future is only a matter of mind control, especially if you are a tortured turkey. And you are certainly wrong if you are a conservative, Christian, or liberal, in fact you are a mindless fool who can't have an opinion. But it really doesn't matter anyway since everything is all George Bush's fault, or maybe Michael Vick's fault. Oh yes, now I have all of that straightened out, at least until I read today's letters. I guess I'll go have some "tofurky" and lentil roast while I read them.