O’er the land of the mostly free? Newly elected Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, from Minnesota, is a Muslim. He elected to have a Koran present at his unofficial swearing-in for his first term, in lieu of a Bible. Republican Rep. Virgil Goode, from Virginia, seems to think this will mean the downfall of the Republic. Now, Ellison was sworn in yesterday using Thomas Jefferson’s copy of the Koran; but this gesture from one of our Founding Fathers, and a man from Goode’s home state, was lost on the good folk of Charlottesville, it seems. In the world view of this letter-writer to the Charlottesville Daily Progress, religious freedom is only for Christians:

This is not a Muslim country but a Christian country and a different God we worship.

We do not want the Quran but the Bible. He owes no one an apology.

Freedom of speech is one of the basics of our country. Yes, we have freedom of religion but not for people aspiring to run our country.

I attend Christian conferences and one that stands out in my memory is the Northern Ohio Christian Conference held at Oberlin College, winter and summer. One summer, a Christian from the Middle East traveled from Asia to Europe to America to address the conference, which he was permitted to do. His message was: The Communists are not your enemy but the Muslims.

As Virgil Goode stated, when you take an oath in this country or are being sworn in to serve the country, your right hand is upon a Bible. I believe this is true in a jury trial.

You swear to tell the truth and the Bible represents the truth to most of us.

Americans fought the Revolutionary War to gain their freedoms and we are not about to let any immigrants strip it away from us.

Yes, Virginia, people like this actually exist.

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