God given freedoms???

One of those be grateful damn it letters.

Let us not abuse God-given freedoms
I don't want to start another slogan, but it was interesting to observe that what was talked about least in the presidential debates was really a dominate issue in the election.Ellen Goodman has brought to our attention that the top "issue on voters minds was moral values" (Missoulian Nov. 9). She says, "The entire moral vocabulary is now a wholly owned language of the religious right."Obviously our nation is divided over the definition and living out of morality. "Values" is a corresponding word that seems to be used to shed light on the subject. I think it actually obscures the true meaning of morality. What is morality? Briefly defined, morality relates to principles of right and wrong, or to a standard of right behavior.In the '60s and '70s a great change came in thinking concerning morals. It was called the "new morality." The moral foundation that supported our society was challenged and everything became relative. "If it feels good, do it!" became the motto. The Ten Commandments were challenged, along with anything else that smacked of being absolute. Religion and philosophy became fuzzy, as the nation underwent a tremendous upheaval in our society.The Beatles proudly announced, "We have become more popular than Jesus!"Thankfully, people are coming to their senses again. There are some absolutes in the world, even moral, and God is not dead, as he was proclaimed back then.It was God who gave us our freedoms in this nation and it is only through his grace that we shall keep them. May we not abuse that freedom.Lester R. Johnson, Victor