LETTER TO THE EDITOR | How about an atheist for United States president?

Published 1:30 am Saturday, October 29, 2016

Editor,

The Oct. 22 Record opinion page is full of praise for Trump’s “Christian values” and coverage of state Sen. Barbara Bailey’s description of her “Christian values.”

I am an atheist; not the only one in the USA, not the only one on Whidbey Island. In a time when we no longer keep people with black skin as slaves, and a time when we value diversity of skin color and eye shape, a time when we know the planet earth is not the center of the universe, I am dismayed that anyone claims that “faith” (a totally subjective belief that means whatever the person uttering it believes it means) is a guide to ethical behavior and a reason for electing him or her to any office in the United States, ranging from president of the United States to Washington state senator.

I find no more reason to believe that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole than that Jesus Christ is the “Son of God” and “rose from the grave.” I would like to see an out-of-the-closet atheist elected president. I would like to see an avowed atheist elected to our Island County offices. I am not a single issue voter; I do not choose to be more prejudiced than people who fear people in touch with empirical reality.

STEPHEN KAHN

Langley