THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994               TAG: 9412020005
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A20  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   44 lines

IS AMERICA STRONG, JUST AND UNDER GOD?

It is fitting, I believe, for us to take a few minutes out of our busy lives to remember that the freedom you and I enjoy came at a terrible price.

If those who paid that price could speak to us today, perhaps they would ask: ``What are you doing with the freedom we have given you? Is America still strong, is it still just, is it still a nation under God?''

We could answer, ``Yes, America is still strong, but if we are to keep faith with you we have work to do. We must guard against the striping of our military strength for political gain, and against those who would send our fine military into every nook and cranny of the world to settle civil wars.''

We are proud of our military. They were so obviously well-trained and well-disciplined in the Persian Gulf war and Haiti. We owe it to them to see that they are properly deployed.

Is America just? I hope so, but I am not sure that there is enough justice for the poor. The rich can hire expensive lawyers, but crowded dockets and some uncaring lawyers do not always get justice for the poor. You and I need to care about this.

Is America still a nation under God? Maybe. However, there are agnostic forces that doggedly and persistently push their agendas while we who believe in God for too long have sat with folded hands.

Did you know that a minister praying before a student body can no longer pray in the name of Jesus Christ? When did Washington slip that one by us? I never voted for such an edict.

Our forefathers never intended for us to have godless institutions or schools, and I don't think we do either. A nation that is not under God is nothing.

If we are to keep faith with the martyrs of yesteryear, we have work to do. We must commit ourselves to keeping America strong, to keeping it just, to keeping it holy, so that they will not have died in vain.

ESTHER CRISANTI

Edenton, N.C., Nov. 25, 1994 by CNB