Un-American per Jeanine

Regarding Tom Teepen’s column, “Evolution denial embarrassing”:The gist of Mr. Teepen’s article is that a minority of the Republican presidential candidates recently publicly questioned evolution and that this is somehow an embarrassment to the nation as evolution is internationally accepted ‘fact’.What I find embarrassing and frankly frightening, is that Mr. Teepen’s bold-faced religious bigotry enjoys public support.Beliefs about evolution aside, those who don’t subscribe to it almost always do so for religious reasons and who is Mr. Teepen to persecute them for that? What country are we living in again? And why is the evolution question germane to a political race? These candidates aren’t vying for Dean of the College of Biology.Mr. Teepen’s obvious ignorance of history and religion is troubling. Most traditional peoples (Native Americans prime among them) and countless others the world over have creation myths as part of their religious heritage. It isn’t just fundamentalist Christians - and even if it were they, have rights too. Genuine tolerance and diversity must extend to those with whom one disagrees.Politics aside, these candidates showed real guts to voice their convictions in such an atmosphere of pure, socially-sanctioned bigotry. Freedom of religion is one of the founding principles of our nation. If you believe in religious freedom - even for those with whom you disagree - stand up against Mr. Teepen’s brand of persecution! It’s the same mentality that inspired the Crusades, and the pogroms. In this case, it hails from the left but it’s still disgusting and patently un-American.Jeanine Ockey-Webb 316 Oregon St. #2