You recently ran an article titled "Did Gideons cross the line?" In the article, staff writer Andrew Kenney reported that a parent complained that her son was given a Bible at school. She requested anonymity, saying she is a Christian who was afraid of how her friends and neighbors would react to her criticism.

Now, I am a Christian, and I have to question why a Christian would be offended by a Bible that was offered to her son -- a Bible he voluntarily accepted. Nobody forced anything on her son; he could have declined the gift if it were offensive to him. I have to wonder why a true Christian would object and why is she ashamed of her actions.

The American Civil Liberties Union is now involved. The organization is causing a distraction for our school administration at a time when there are many pressing problems to be dealt with. The ACLU is in there stirring up trouble, an activity that it seems to specialize in.

Quite frankly, I am sick and tired of people disrupting our traditional ways of life. I am a Christian, and, like most other Christians, I am tolerant of other denominations and other religious beliefs. Why can't we live and let live, as long as we are not harmed by another's actions? It is time that we peace-loving, everyday citizens start reacting to these incursions into our lives and shame people like this lady and send her back into her hole. She should be ashamed -- ashamed to claim to be a Christian.

Ernie Allsbrook

Smithfield

ACLU to the rescue

I read with interest the article on the Gideons handing out their Bibles in Johnston County schools. How traumatizing it must have been to be confronted with such seditious and corrupting materials. Hopefully the students were quickly removed to classrooms where they could be deprogrammed with a healthy dose of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion."

What was most insightful was how quickly Katy Parker, the ACLU representative, was to cite, incorrectly, the unconstitutionality of the act.

I wonder if it would shock Ms. Parker and her friends at the ACLU to learn that Thomas Jefferson, the man they most love to cite as an architect of the "wall of separation," chaired the school board for the District of Columbia while president of the United States? As chairman, he authored the first D.C. plan of education, which used the Bible and Isaac Watts' "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" (1707) as the principle books for teaching students to read.

It is truly a shame that a group that claims to promote civil liberties so often stands against the religious free speech that is protected by the First Amendment. It is also sad how ignorant many Christians, like the anonymous mom in the story, are of the Christian heritage of our great nation. I wonder how many Christians in North Carolina know that our first state constitution, written in 1776, barred any individual from holding office in the state if he denied "the being of God" or held "religious principles incompatible with the freedoms and safety of the state"? (North Carolina Constitution, 1776, Section XXXII) It really makes you wonder how those people back then ever survived without the American Civil Liberties Union to protect them from all that religious zealotry.

Jerrod Rose

Clayton

No time for a silly season

I have read both letters to the editor from Mark Otto and Jerry Dodson, representatives of the Republican Party and Democratic Party, respectively. I agree with Mr. Dodson that as of yet I have not heard any real alternatives from the Republican Party. So I was pleased to see Mr. Otto present some well-thought-out ideas on health-care reform. However, I find a few things unfortunate with his recent letter and what appear to be the priorities of the Republican Party.

First, several of Mr. Otto's suggestions are reflected in current health-care legislation, which is a good thing. Yet he and the Republican Party are determined to oppose it.

Second, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicated that the recently released GOP health-care plan would not decrease the percentage of uninsured Americans. In fact, by 2019, the CBO concluded, an additional 2 million Americans would be uninsured under the GOP plan. It also does not contain a provision that would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. That is not a sincere effort at reform.

Lastly, Mr. Otto felt it necessary to distort voting records and characterized a valid counterpoint to his initial letter as a personal attack. That is the precise moment when credibility is lost with a voter. We can see through that.

The seriousness of the challenges facing our nation deserves more than tired political tactics that attempt to shift the focus from the issues to the nonsensical. Our leaders are facing some very tough choices on the most significant challenges we have seen in generations. There is no time for a silly season.

If you want your ideas considered, then come to the table with an earnest desire for results and check the games at the door. If Republicans can do that, then I encourage Democrats to let them in. Until then, I'm for whoever is sincerely trying to get things done.

Patricia B. Anthony

Willow Spring