Regarding the recent letter by Gary Kimmell (“Is the separation of church and state a two-way street?” Nov. 28 Times-News).
Church and government are better off when they are kept separate. I don’t think atheists are afraid of God, as Mr. Kimmel contends, but they would simply rather not see overt displays of religion made by their government.
The same holds true for non-Christians. Members of minority religions are marginalized and excluded when their government publicly supports the majority religion. And there are many Christians who believe that involvement of religion in government corrupts both.
No group I’m aware of, no matter how liberal, says that the church cannot guide people how to vote. The role of religion is to instill values and morals that naturally effect one’s voting choices.
I think what Mr. Kimmel is referring to is the IRS mandate that clergy cannot politicize from the pulpit. This does not mean clergy cannot speak from the pulpit concerning issues — clergy just cannot endorse a candidate.
However, if the church wishes to give up its tax exempt status then that church can preach what it wishes from the pulpit.
The last half of Mr. Kimmel’s letter can be summarized by his belief that without religion or a God a person cannot live a moral life.
What nonsense. There are many atheists who live very moral lives while at the same time there are many believers who live very immoral lives.
Ed Joyce
Morrisville, Pa.
Editorials
Church and state both better off when kept separate
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Walk Smart
Many local residents will be visiting Ocean City this summer, so it is worth noting that the resort has launched a campaign that it hopes will keep pedestrians out of harm’s way.
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Frostburg’s Bridge Program was important
After hearing rumors of possible changes being made, I just wanted to take a few minutes to put into words what the Frostburg Bridge Program meant to me as a child. Growing up in Frostburg, my parents were small business owners, my mother a teacher, and my father worked for the postal service.
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Trailer case bound to increase scrutiny on town of Piedmont
This letter is in response to the recent story concerning the guilty plea entered in federal court by Piedmont’s town foreman (“Piedmont town foreman Shingler enters guilty plea,” May 21 Times-News, Page 1A).
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Fixing community’s problems starts with your young people
I am writing this letter to the editor because I think our community really needs to work on plenty of issues. Some of them are:
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High priority
Maryland school officials on Tuesday put an exclamation point on the need to take student-athlete concussions more seriously.
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Cashing in
As anyone who lives in the area knows, economic gains have been hard to come by in recent years. The opening of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort is one of the biggest boosts the region has seen in some time.
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Why have the media been silent all this time?
When I read the Cumberland Times-News Editorial this morning, Friday, May 17, entitled, “Outrageous,” I laughed like a kid at a birthday party!
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What are chances this much money will be spent on road?
I was intrigued by cost data summarized in reporter Kathy Mellott’s recent article, “Completing southern link of U.S. Route 219 said to be best use of highway funds,” which appeared in the Cumberland Times-News on Tuesday May 14 (Page 1A).
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School board should be doing better job with less money
The Allegany County Teachers Association (ACTA) board of directors recently submitted a letter to the editor asking the Allegany County commissioners to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year (“Commissioners should fund school board request,” April 29 Times-News).
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Better ‘Click It’
If you notice more police on the highway this week, it’s for a couple of reasons.
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