Responses to: Let Freedom Ring!

An Excellent Article! It certainly provides a better understanding of the Muslim world. Thank you for the contribution you are making to understanding.   F. A. S.

I continue to be amazed at your ability to change my way of thinking about our world and culture on a weekly basis. Your article, “Let Freedom Ring!” was another clear, concise, presentation that made me stop, back-up, and re-think my views, opinions, and yes, even feelings about terrorism. I want to thank-you for the challenge with which you confront me every week.   R. S.

I have just read The Pentagon's New Map by Thomas Barnett. He is of the opinion that our military must promote globalization by facilitating immigration, providing energy, establishing in the "have nots" of the world industries to provide jobs along with freedoms we enjoy in the Western countries. He believes this will entice young men, who are the backbone of militant Islam as suicide bombers,etc. to join the Western culture and abandon their desire to "kill the infidels."

It seems to me that the fundamentalists you describe in the above article will never be content until they establish Islamic governments in all Muslim countries. Barnett describes in detail how he believes the military defense of our country must be designed to kill the dictators in the poor Muslim nations and then establish democratic countries which are part of international globalization.  G. N.

Thank you for a most enlightening understanding of militant Islam. PEACE be with you.   R. P.

Response to Father's Day Response:

It doesn't require that a man be a biological father to bring fathering energy and wisdom to the next generation. This should be nowhere more evident than in the church, where a whole class of ordained men has been addressed as "Father," and for good reason. Biological fatherhood is a result of the meeting of sperm and egg. Ongoing, effective fatherhood requires much, much more, and delivers a wealth of result.

Gay men are good fathers. Sterile men are good fathers. Unmarried men are good fathers. Celibate men are good fathers. Grandfathers, uncles, and brothers are good fathers. I would far rather a boy be raised by a competent single man than in an abusive household of husband and wife.

Yes, we have a crisis of lack of fatherhood. But let's not look to the nuclear family of mother-father-child to be the answer. The answer lies in men, like you and me, who are willing to be coaches, mentors, foster parents, pastors, teachers, and otherwise advocates for children.   S. N.

S.N.'s advice to divorce fatherhood from reproduction and from the nuclear family, if widely followed, would only lead to further social fragmentation. S.N. ignores the critical principle of responsibility for one's actions: those who sire children are responsible to provide for, protect, and nurture their offspring. Gay men, sterile men, and others may choose to assume the role of father, but men who reproduce are obligated to do so. The family is the institution that humanity across cultures and millennia has used to best ensure that men meet this obligation. In the absence of strong societal support for marriage, I predict that there will never be enough father-surrogate volunteers -- mentors, coaches, teachers, pastors, or whatever -- to effectively fill the need for fathers. Instead, an ever-more-expansive welfare state will evolve to compensate for the lack of fathers, with all the results that come with such a state: increased taxes, decreased civil liberties, and second- or third-rate services.   J. V. K.

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