Letter to Las Cruces Sun-News Editor

On 12 November 2008 I emailed a letter to the local Sun-News that has not been published, about the local Bishop holding the annual Mariachi Fiesta mass, of which I have no gripe. The large front-page color picture of the Bishop in his Church regalia resplendent with all the Latin crosses is an eye-catcher, because of the similarity of those symbols and those used by the City and its employees. Then there is that federal Court ruling that three Latin crosses are not religious in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

There is only one weekly newspaper and during the week the Sun-News only allows 2-3 letters if they fit the small section allowed on the 'Opinion' page. The Sunday edition sometimes has 8-10 letters. One of the problems is the amount of time that passes before the letter with its subject appear which makes some subjects moot, because people can't remember the original article.
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Editor:
It was heart-warming to see on the front page of the Monday, 10 November 2008, Sun-News our local Bishop Ramirez leading citizens and visitors in a religious service at the Pan-American Center. It was especially thoughtful to include the accompanying pictures of the two young girls.
The poignancy of these pictures is that the religious leader, the citizens and visitors from far and wide, and their children in attendance, were enjoying their full measure of uninterrupted religious benefits guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution.
While right here in Las Cruces, minorities of different religions and those citizens with no religion are excluded from their full measure of their right to choose to be free from religion by the local governments and courts, rights that are guaranteed by the same U. S. Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution.
The unabated, continued actions of the City of Las Cruces and the Doña Ana County governments of their proselytizing, supported by self-serving interpretations of the truth by those charged to provide justice, is pure mockery of “We, the People.”
There are many good citizens in Las Cruces who respect their neighbors, and thereby, are good neighbors themselves. I have spoken with many of all faiths and none about the untenable daily situation we all endure at the whim of the City Council, the County Council, and their faithful supporters. The good citizens know what the truth is, what the intent is of the City and Doña Ana County, and blindness to the truth is a fool’s folly.