LETTERS: REBUTTAL TO REBUTTAL LETTER ON MOTTOES

To the editor:

On Jan. 2 a letter of mine was published in this space. The thesis was that various governmental slogans and mottoes implying a general belief in religion were false, because many citizens do not hold such a belief. The Rev. Walter J. Keisker's response (Jan. 8) only deals with my letter as an attack on religion. It was no such thing, except insofar as my expression of my personal lack of belief in God can be construed as such. But not one whose profession is purveyor of religion can allow even an innocuous expression such as mine to go unchallenged, because if such attitudes as mine were to become common, the high unemployment in the religion game would take the wind out of the nation's economic sails.

Keisker asks if "In God We Trust" should be deleted from U.S. money. Yes, unless the nation insists on telling a lie regarding the beliefs of many of its citizens. But this motto should not be replaced with "In God We Certainly Do Not Trust," because this too is not a universally held opinion. Is neutrality on the question of God's existence and sovereignty not good enough, or must every public expression suck up to religion?

The chestnut of America's being a Christian nation except when we did this, that or the other reminds me of the experimental physicist's proof that all odd numbers are prime. The physicists says, "One is prime, three is prime, five is prime, seven is prime, nine is composite, but that's just an exception." Before long, the exceptions outnumber the examples.

A Speak Out caller asked whether the use of the word "God" on currency or buildings ever harmed me. Yes, to the extent that it imputes to me an opinion that I do not hold.

DONN S. MILLER

Tamms, Ill.