In our last installment of “Not So Polite Dinner Conversation”, I had a post about the usual theocratic antics by Rep. Saccone and various Pennsylvania legislators.  I converted my post into a letter to the editor (vastly cut for length) and it was published in the local paper.  I’ve been pretty lucky in having letters published.

(And yes, revealing this means that someone could figure out who I am. That’s actually been quite possible for a long while on this blog. But I do expect some work to be put into figuring that out.)

One of the side effects of having letters to the editor printed is that I get responses.  I’ve gotten phone calls, which have all been positive.  The ones I am most proud of and stirred by were those supporting me when I spoke against Christian proselytizing in the public schools.  Two gentlemen, one claiming to be a Lutheran pastor and one a survivor of the Holocaust, told me I did the right thing.

Then I get “fan mail”….  It’s usually not full of expletives like those that the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (see them read aloud here and here).  I usually only get religious tracts, because, you know, they always work in changing someone’s mind <snicker>. Of course there are always comments on the newpaper’s website, but internet comments are a dime a dozen  🙂

This time I got a hand-written note, the first.  It’s anonymous, as they all are.  Faith only goes so far, it seems.  This one is a bit odd in that it’s a photocopy of the original since one can tell that there are no pen impressions on the paper. The author certainly seems intent on making sure no one can attribute this to them.  It also has a copy of my letter with it, a photocopy of a photocopy.  I guess the author didn’t think I’d remember what I’d written?

I’ve included a scan of this lovely letter to show it in its true form but I thought I’d type it out to show just how amusing it is.  I don’t often demonstrate just how inept wannabee theocrats are but this is a special occasion, I am indulging myself.  I was tempted to read it in a video but since I’m suffering from a nasty cold, and my voice is about gone, I thought better of that.

“In response to your opinion – Are you one of the uneducated do-do’s?  Our Country was founded on a Christian group of explorers, settlers, soldiers, etc.  You are evidently reading in to something out in left field when “your idea” reads Saccone is forcing a one religion!!  You, and people “like you”, should move out if you’re offended!  Decent citizens of America are sick of your kind! Idiot!!” (darn,  that last word had *two* whole underlines 🙂 )

Looking at the handwriting, I can guess that this is from a woman. The script isn’t quite like that of my mother and aunt, so I’m guessing that she’s about my age, though she was brought up using the capital F that looks like a 7 with a horizontal slash across it, unlike me (at one time I was told that this was a European variation which I’m sure would horrify such a good TrueAmerican).  She does have much nicer hand-writing than I do.  The envelope shows that she lives in the same zip code I do, part city and part suburbs, but she didn’t know what zip code I live in and had to depend on the government to get it to me despite her ignorance.  For the instance of this review, let’s call her Annie.

Now, let’s look at her nonsense.  I’m a “do-do”, not a dodo, which is generally how one calls someone e.g. a comparison to the funny looking flightless bird.  The plural of dodo would be dodos or dodoes. So, Annie , it seems that the question of who is uneducated is rather clear already.

Annie also insists that our “Country” was founded on a “Christian group of explorers, settlers, soldiers, etc.”   Indeed, many of them were Christians, of all different sects.  But I’m guessing that Annie would not agree that all of them were Christians.  It always seems that this type of TrueChristian is sure that only their version of Christianity is the only true one.   They often want to claim that all self-proclaimed Christians are part of their flock when it’s convenient e.g. when they want to claim to be the majority.  Then there are billions of happy agreeing Christians. But when it comes to attending church, well, there’s a different variation on every block, each congregation sure that they are the only ones who “really” have it right.

The very early explorers were likely in the majority Roman Catholics, thanks to that sect’s power.  We then had an influx of Anglicans and Protestants and even more sects who thought those sects were wrong, our famous Puritan Pilgrims.  I’m guessing that Annie would not agree that the Puritans were the TrueChristians either, since they did not celebrate Christmas (can’t fantasize a “war on Christmas” if one doesn’t have Christmas).  She might indeed agree with them that anyone who didn’t follow their religion should be forcibly exiled as they did.  They would certainly not agree with her views, a fact that all modern Christians ignore when being so sure that their version is the “truth”.

Annie also conveniently forgets, or is willfully ignorant of, those of other religions and no religion at all who were also of those explorers, settlers, soldiers, etc. In this rather fractious “melting pot” of the US, we have had Christians of all types, Jews, atheists, Deists, Native American religions, etc, all contributing to the exploration, settlement and defense of the United States. We have these men and women being parts of various organizations that some TrueChristian have fits about, like Freemasonry.  If one takes a moment to search the internet, we have TrueChristians sure that explorers, like Lewis and Clark, were, gasp!, Deists and not Christians at all.  Who is to be believed, Annie?  You?  Those of your faith that say you are wrong? The facts that say you are wrong?

There seems to be two choices to explain Annie’s claims and how they fail so pitifully.  One, she is an “uneducated do-do”, unfortunately ignorant of the basic facts of American history.  Second, she is an intentional liar, misrepresenting the facts to portray something that is not true to further her delusions of superiority.  It is a shame that she’s forgotten that her religion has instance after instance of its god hating liars.

Annie insists that I must be mistaken when I declare that it is obvious that Rep. Saccone et al are trying to force one religion into the public schools by requiring that “In God We Trust” be posted.  She of course avoids acknowledging my conditions for Saccone to show his honest concern with history (as has Saccone at this point).  If she was so sure that I was wrong, that there is no theocratic intentions behind Saccone’s bill, one would think that then she should approve of the conditions that I suggested to clarify the issue.  Her indignation would then be unnecessary.  But she does not.  Rather than agree with such conditions to show that her claims are true, she insists that I, and those “like me”, should leave the country if we are offended by TrueChristians who cannot demonstrate that their claims are true. Nothing like hoping those that can show you are a liar will stop doing so and leave the country.  Alas, her hopes are just as effective as her prayers.

Finally, Annie claims that she and those that agree with her are the only “decent Americans” and that they are “sick” of “my kind”.  I suppose they are sick of being shown to be wrong over and over again, that their “emperor” is indeed naked.  That’s not going to change, Annie.  You may froth as much as you’d like.  Your lies will get no more true.

Oh, and she finishes by calling me an idiot, with two whole exclamation points.  Oh we can feel that Christian love, can’t we?  The humbleness, the turning the other cheek?  Not with this TrueChristian….

Sorry, Annie, you, and those like you, aren’t the only decent Americans.  You are American, that I’ll happily grant you, but you are a sad selfish woman.  You have bought into a lie that only TrueChristians like you founded the United States of America.  You arrogantly disregard all of the hard work that many people who dare to be different than you have put into making this country something to be strived for.  You try desperately to take credit for all of that work, and that is pathetic.  Thank you for your letter.  It’s everything that I stand against, willful ignorance, greed and cowardice.  Knowing you are out there means that there is still work to be done.