Thoughts on writer's thoughts

Apart from the strange relationship between Democracy and Christianity proposed by Denny Driscoll in today's Fence Post (Jan. 10), how does he expect our president to "open up non-Western countries to Christianity"?

Spreading religion "by the sword" is out of favor these days, except in some fundamentalist groups. There is also the matter of the First Amendment's "Establishment" clause (look it up, Mr. Driscoll).

What's more, I wonder how he comes by his certainty that propagating his personal beliefs is the correct course. I'm sure there are some religious groups in those "non-Western" countries who think the answer is to spread their beliefs in our neck of the woods by whatever means necessary.

It was a pleasant surprise to see an accompanying letter from a "secular humanist." Though Allan Perlman's argument contained an unfortunate ad hominem component, he expressed values and ideals that do not depend on the particular flavor of one's "beliefs", but reflect more of what the authors of our Constitution had in mind.

Stephen M. Weeks

Mundelein