Pray Tell

Dear Lord. There's too much goddamned religion in this campaign. All it took was for W. Bush to declare Jesus being the reason he stopped partying and all hell broke loose. It seems like the other candidates have to play holier than thou or the public will consider them godless heathens.

Do I *care* that W. Bush thinks Jesus is just all right with him? "Mr. Bush, who is the Son of God?" W. would probably get THAT answer correct, although I'd just as soon he knew who ran India than the Kingdom of Heaven.

Even though our money may declare "In God We Trust," it was actually gold that we trusted and we don't even trust that anymore. I have a hard time believing The Almighty invented the Federal Reserve. I think that must have been a fallen angel, perhaps Satan himself. As for government, we have relegated this god guy to a pretty ceremonial role and that's just fine with me. The occasional lighting of a White House Christmas tree or an opening prayer on the House floor doesn't get me as upset as candidates shamelessly genuflecting for votes.

Alan Keyes is so god-swept he doesn't have a snowball's chance with the general public. With Christians a shrinking majority (and many Christians simply wearing the uniform and not really playing the game), Keyes is fun to listen to but we might as well nail him to the cross now and save the matching funds.

Gore is without shame, not to mention possibly delusional. From declaring he and Tipper inspired "Love Story," to claiming to have invented the internet, what this guy has to say about religion is irrelevant to any thinking individual.

Keep in mind that the first use of the Gutenberg printing press was to mass produce "tickets to heaven," that when purchased supposedly assured you front row seats for the Hereafter. People are no smarter these days and the politicians are preying on that blind faith. Religion has as much a place in politics as it does in government. It should be untoward to even discuss something this personal unless, of course, it's all worn on the sleeve for the sake of image. Let 'em run for pope but I don't want to stick my nose in their pews.

Amen.

Don Wrege
Boulder, CO