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r Dt**mb*§ r 7, 1994 We Get Letters P. 0. Box 1027 Athens, GA 30603 Dear Mr McCommortS: I am responding to your editorial entitled *A Modest Proposal For the Poor/ though not in any overly reoctive way. as you may have wished I'm more shocked by your lack of creativ ity than anything else Here's my modest proposal: In the future, in the interest of being precise, please refer to those select irx*vK*x>ls who try to mix church and state as the Religious Right The Reli gious Right may be Christians, but not all Christians are among the Religious Right For those \Mx> didn't reod the article, the editor of Flagpole began by calling the recent election a "triumph of the Republicans and the Christians * He then began to parody Swift's 'A Modest Proposal.* asserting by sarcastic implication that all members of these two groups, at the very least, ore unreasonable and without compassion for their felow hu man beings That may be Republican doctrine (I wouldn't know), but it sure isn't Christian doctrine Mr McCommons. why not take a pot 7 1 wouldn't ask you to do anything as unreasonable as comparing the overwhelming number of Christians in the United States to the relatively few card-carrying members of the NRA (though you seem to equate the two in your ar ticle! Instead, take a poll of the number of people who cal themselves Christians Next, ask them if they have a party affliction Its my guess that you would have an almost even split between Democrats and Republicans Furthermore, it's my belief as a Christian that Christ was quite a liberal (in contrast to the establishment of the time!, ond that he came to free us from the law Though I feel that it is God's \mI that enlightened Christian men ond women often take office at crucial moments in history. I am not wilng to believe Christ ordinarily plays favorites in politics In fact. I think he is largely washing his hands of secular government until the day he returns to establish his perfect kingdom That is not to say that God wishes us to have no government at al Our government, founded by intelligent individuals, many of whom believed in God. has its basis in the Constitution, which dearly separates church and state. I argue that our constitutional freedoms, espe cially the First Amendment, have made us the great nation we are today We are truly a God-blessed country, and part of that blessing, for me. involves being able to choose to worship Christ (free wilt), rather than being forced to worship him, or worse, some other god However, the Religious Right would like very much to institute its version of God into the government Newt Gingrich has alreody vowed to propose a constitutional amendment that would require prayer in schools And that's just one part of a greater'vision* he has Well, to sum it all up. here's to an uniformed, reactionary voting populous that allows candidates ike him to take office Here's to overly liberal editors who point the world in overly brood strokes And here's hoping that the state's god resembles your own Eric Williamson Dear Flagpole D. L. Bennett’s letter (23 November), backlashing against the “constant raves” the sci-fi surf band Man or Astro-Man? have received in these pages, is nght about one thing. New stones and angles on the band, going beyond celebration of their “gimmicks” and inside jokes, would be welcome That’s exactly why 1 contributed a moderately serious interview with Birdstuff (MoA ?*s drummer) to Flagpole earlier this year. Mine can’t have been one of the interviews Bennett was complaining about, because it focused on their important music and not on their geeks from-space shuck (OK, Little Debbu snack cakes may have been mentioned, but only in passing) Wait — did 1 say “important music”? Yep. I’ll repeat what I’ve said before: Man or Astro-Man ? are the most important instrumental rock band to come out of the South east since the Dixie Dregs. They ’deserve* their rave reviews. The first show they played in Athens was almo>: exactly as Bennett would have wished: little or no fan fare, little or no advertising, without Twinkles. (The TV sets and other “gimmicks" were there, but hey — pop culture is *all about gimmicks*.) It was news of their inspired playing, spread by word of mourh (and yes, by word of impressed Flagpole reviewers) that has won them the populanty that Bennett seems to resent. A “gimmick"-free MoA? would hardly be Bennett’s “third-rate Ventures npoff band”, even if they played only Ventures covers and sound-alike tunes MoA? would be a *first*-rate Ventures npoff band (They put more life into their three or four Ventures tunes than the Ventures themselves ever did.) But in fact they play few covers these days. Their own material is original, catchy and non-formulaic. It would be a shame for the band’s sense of humor to obscure their great music from the humor- impaired L. H. White Dear Matthew* af-sr’sSiSK now name RECIPE OF THE Poking into copyn*hrm<, Tricia Zevos 1 ,rcu Iation Manager Tl * Athens Observer rustic/refined ^ earthy/elegant Q yin/yang en MC hristmas Great Gift Ideas! Cook Books Gift Certificates Imported Soaps Exotic Shampoos Massage Oils Mineral Baths Stocking Stuffers ^^^^and More! ^ lui’3«ip/Atpjea ^ pauijaj/Dqsiu Perfect Present 1 n. jackson *(>9-807^ Sundays 'til Christmas 1-5 complimentary gift wrap hot cider holiday cheer