Letters to the editor

Ecoterrorism and consumerism

Ecoterrorism, which has been cited as one of the possible motives for the fires that engulfed luxury homes in Indian Head, Md., (“Inferno in Indian Head,” Page 1, Tuesday) is illegal, immoral and politically naive. However, the arson at Indian Head and the national trend in ecoterrorism may offer an important new lesson in civics. People don’t like to see species go extinct, they are sick of pollution, and they’re feeling overcrowded. People are becoming so concerned about the environment, public health and economic stability that they are committing desperate acts to protect it all.

We should sympathize with innocent property owners who are victimized by ecoterrorism and count on the courts to treat them justly. We also should sympathize with those who are passionately committed to environmental protection and public health. Their motives are noble, but when their tactics are illegal, they should be arrested.

Extravagant homes, Humvees and other goods and services with heavy “ecological footprints” will increasingly draw the ire of both radical and reasonable people as the world gets more crowded and polluted. The ire cannot take the form of ecoterrorism, but the ire itself is understandable. We must stamp out both ecoterrorism and the insidious threats to our environment and public health caused by irresponsible consumption. In a sense, ecoterrorists come in two varieties: the usual committers and the unusually conspicuous consumers.

BRIAN CZECH

Arlington, Va.

The uniqueness of Christmas

Thank you for the article “U.S. communities fail to keep ‘Christ’ in Christmas” (Page 1, Thursday), by Jennifer Harper.

We Christians are actually at fault for the loss of Christmas. We should have copyrighted it 2,000 years ago so no one could use it without our permission. This year, as I helped to plan the “holiday” party in my office, I realized how offended and angry I am that these whiners have stolen it from us. They can give gifts, attend parties and decorate, yet mention the actual name of the holiday that falls on Dec. 25 and you are stared down and reminded of its “accepted” name.

They have not bothered to steal Hanukkah, Ramadan or Kwanzaa. All of those holidays are politically correct and can actually be mentioned in a public setting — even celebrated. Blending these holidays together is absolutely ridiculous, as well, because they have no semblance to one another in origin or grandeur.

Surveys show that an overwhelming majority of the American public believes in Jesus Christ. It is time to take this holiday back from the politically correct and the retailers and forbid them from misusing our holiday.

I only wish we had the help of the trial lawyers, but they are having too much financial success with malpractice suits. They could be a force to reckon with.

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