
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, November 21, 1993                   TAG: 9311220255
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: EDITORIAL   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

GOVERNMENT IS NOT GOD'S AGENT

KEITH Fournier's Nov. 7 commentary, ``America's anti-faith bigots,'' is entirely hypocritical. He says all that religious conservatives want is ``access to the public arena.'' They want the right to ``contend in the marketplace of ideas'' (as if they were not, already.) But he's outraged at any criticism: ``The religious cleansers must go.'' If he really believed his pious words, he'd know that criticism comes with the territory.

It's part of their faith that the government is an agent of God, acting by God's authority.

Consider Cal Thomas' Sept. 8 column (``Clinton's `new beginning'''): ``The conservative theological view is that we need government because we are sinners. If we will not be constrained from within ... we must be restrained from without by the power of the state, acting as God's agent ... '' In a July 29, 1990, column, Thomas argued that the Supreme Court should base its rulings on "absolute truth," as revealed by God in the Bible. In his Aug. 6, 1990, commentary, R.E. Knodel Jr., pastor of a church in Lynchburg, argued that God gives the state the right to kill evildoers.

The theocratic right do not believe in civil liberties or freedom of expression for anyone but themselves. Nor is their goal simply freedom for themselves, which they already have (witness Pat Robertson's media empire) but the enactment of their religion into law.

JOHN B. HODGES

BLACKSBURG

Love affair's legacy addiction, disease

I WAS addicted to cigarettes and had a 37-year love affair with them. Now, at age 51, I have acute respiratory failure and chronic obstructive-pulmonary disease. I recently spent six days in intensive care and another five in a room at the hospital.

I beg to differ with William Campbell of Philip Morris, Martin Orlowsky of Lorilland and Michael Rosenbaum of Brooke Group Ltd.

I don't know if cigarettes cause cancer, although I suspect they do. But there's no doubt they were the cause of my lung disease. I'm on oxygen 24 hours a day. Do I smoke now? No. I had a choice - keep smoking and die soon, or quit and maybe have 10, 15 or 20 good years.

At salaries of $800,000 and $323,000, these guys are not going to lose one smoker if they can help it. Don't they know they're losing them to death and disease? I'm sure when they cash their paychecks that they could care less about their consumers.

Believe me, once all the nicotine is out of your system, you still have the addiction to deal with. And once you quit, one cigarette to a smoker is like one drink to an alcoholic. I can't believe those idiots say it's not addictive.

LYNN HERRING

ROANOKE

Is the legislature now irrelevant?

THE ELECTION is over, so now we wait for the promises to be fulfilled.

I've always been under the impression that the 140 members of our General Assembly have something to do with proposing, debating and passing laws. If those elected to statewide office are going to do this, that and the other, I see no need for a General Assembly. It's a waste of money.

EDWIN R. ROBERTSON

PEARISBURG

Don't believe what they say

RECENTLY there seems to have been a lot of negative letters to the editor about the Roanoke Times & World-News. We would like to express our opinion.

We've always enjoyed this newspaper, even before we moved here from another state. We don't believe these criticisms are justified. Compared to other newspapers we've read, yours is very informative, interesting and a well-rounded publication with excellent staff writers. We also enjoy the humorous side, i.e., Ben Beagle, Ed Shamy and the comics (but we do miss ``Outland''). The Friday Extra, Spectator, Neighbors and News Fun for the kids are fine inserts.

At the same time, we'd like to thank you for the July 4th celebrations at Victory Stadium, complete with a spectacular display of fireworks and free admission.

You do a great service for the citizens of the Roanoke Valley. Keep up the excellent work.

JEFF and SHARMA HAASE

ROANOKE

No respect shown to Southsiders

DO YOU realize how you have insulted the subscribers to the Roanoke Times & World-News from Martinsville, Henry County and surrounding areas when you spouted your distaste and ignorance in calling the A.L. Philpott Memorial a boondoggle? Philpott was a friend of mine, and Mr. Editor, you're no friend to the people who supported this great statesman.

You're not educated to the benefits that the widening and straightening of U.S. 58 will be to Southwesterners. Do you realize that we are teetering on the brink of no new businesses locating in our area because of this "dream" we had in seeing the road completed? I say dream, for I feel George Allen will forget it just as soon as he stops thanking y'all who voted for him. He'll chew it up and spit it out in his polished spittoon and snuff it out of memory.

A pea-brain editorial (Nov. 1, ``The dumb road (widening)'') was written, and here's a pox on this newspaper to which we only recently subscribed.

If all Roanoke believe this way, and unless there are rebuttals to the contrary, this family shall boycott Roanoke and forever regret the money we've spent in the past to help your well-being, economically speaking. This is a problem with a lot of city/county relationships. Little respect has been shown by cities to nonresidents and memories are long.

Not only would U.S. 58 benefit us who are an hour away from you, but it would also help you if Interstate 73 became a reality and the two could intersect. Wouldn't that be loverly? An apology would suffice, but I'm not holding my breath.

PATTY HORNICK

COLLINSVILLE

by CNB