Progressives imply government gives rights

Leonard Pitts' Oct. 24 column “Christine O'Donnell, the public face of ignorance,” was just one of a spate of media mischaracterizations of tge Delaware Republican senatorial candidate's “separation of church and state” rhetorical question in recent debate with her Democrat opponent. It typifies the left's penchant for smearing conservatives as ignorant and stupid. In fact, “separation of church and state” appears not in the Constitution but in a separate writing of Thomas Jefferson. The First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits recognized “official” religions. But progressives employ an aggressive misreading of it to violate the freedom clause, even banning such free expression as the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes in public areas. O'Donnell's point was timely.

A larger issue: We are lapsing from “In God we trust” to “Government the Omnipotent.” The left despises the absolutes of our foundational Judeo-Christian morality, which confront its moral relativism. Progressives endeavor to create Big Government as god in their own image. In this neo-paganism,“BG” is a jealous god - evidence being, for example, the president's studied avoidance of rights “endowed by their Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence.

The clear implication: Citizens' rights are not absolutes, written by God, but are situational, arbitrarily created and granted by government. They are subsidiary to government, which can abolish them at will.

Dale Fitzgibbons

Cedar Rapids