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Letter writer James McLane’s indignation (SP, Aug. 8) over the Olympic opening ceremonies stems from a misconception — that faith enjoins similar restrictions upon non-believers as adherents. He is constrained by his creed’s restrictions; I am not.
He claims “freedom of religion” as his right, but misunderstands that practising his faith does not justify restricting my right to comment upon it. He has the right to believe; others have the right to find his belief infantile, indicative of stunted magical-thinking, or just plain silly.
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(Many find a text that begins with a talking snake and ends with a seven-headed beast a little difficult to take seriously.)
Religion is not exempted from the critique and analysis that is directed at other beliefs. Politics, flat-earthism, and ghosts, as well as alien abductions, are all routinely mocked, encouraged, defended or pilloried, without any claims of insult.
There is no reason to privilege McLane’s religion above another’s politics or belief in aliens.
There was no insult — McLane’s inability to distinguish between his saviour and Greece’s Dionysus is his problem, not the IOC’s.
It is ironic that McLane declares disrespect, but presumably has no problem with flooding our society with Christian symbolism and iconography that many of his fellow citizens find redolent of a repugnant, blood-soaked and tyrannical past.
Would McLane consider a cruciform Remembrance Day wreath to show lack of respect? He should, if he remembers that many of the fallen were Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist or of no faith at all. But of course, that’s different.
Colin Butler, Saskatoon
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Better priorities than military spending
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools,” said Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, we are very close to dying as fools. Some of us, like terrorized animals, use all their energy, all their resources to fight.
Together, countries owning nuclear weapons spent $2,898 per second on their nuclear weapons in 2023, while one person in 11 in the world is affected by hunger. NATO would like its members to spend at least two per cent of their GDP for the military.
Canada is now putting 1.3 per cent of its GDP into the military and said it can meet NATO’s investment goal of two per cent by 2032. What about homelessness, health, education and fires raging due to the climate crisis? What about the danger of conflicts becoming worldwide nuclear wars?
Let’s listen to the voices calling for ceasefires, negotiations and durable peace.
Evelyn Tischer, Regina
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