Dear Editor:

An old and impatient cartoon watcher wrote a curious letter to the editor (printed on Oct. 31), but directed his comments to me, the hated atheist of LaGrange. Since investigation reveals that the cartoon watcher plans to run for the school board, the unprovoked assault on me appears to be politically motivated.

The old cartoon fan says the United States is founded on Christianity, even though he was paid to teach history and should know that the 1797 Tripoli Treaty said: “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” He also says I will not be able to convince him to be an atheist. But had he been paying attention, he would know that I write for youth, because they are our future, ideally, one without religion.

But think about it. Do we need a school board member who thinks that Jesus wrote our Constitution? Must we settle for cartoon watchers who do not believe in free speech? Do we really need somebody in that office who relies on Old Testament science? Do we need a religious fanatic on the school board who might waste precious school resources litigating separation of church and state?

So I have a deal for the impatient cartoon man. You stop reading my letters, and just watch your cartoons. In exchange, I won’t vote for you. But don’t fret. If you lose the election, at least you can devote more time to your interests in fiction: watching cartoons and reading your bible.

Mike Smith

Lakeshore Drive, LaGrange