I was so pleased with my letter, I decided to make it public. I've included links to videos so you can see what I'm talking about in the second body paragraph.
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Mayor McFarlane and Councilor Crowder,
In light of the recent Galloway v. Greece decision from the Supreme Court, I would like to voice my concern about the practice of religious invocations before council meetings. Given the current state of affairs in which sectarian invocations from any tradition are allowed before council meetings, I suggest the council discontinue the practice to prevent exclusion and conflict. I am happy to call this large and diverse city home, so it grieves me that over the past year only Christians have been scheduled to perform the invocation (with the exceptions of two Jews and one ECKist). Each speaker affirms the existence of God in some form or fashion, and none allows for minority views such as polytheism, pantheism, atheism, or agnosticism. I understand the inherent difficulty in incorporating less common traditions, and that is partly why I think the best solution is simply discontinuing the invocations. This way, all citizens of Raleigh are represented every week, no group has to wait for its turn to be featured, and no one can claim unequal treatment.
Before I close, I would also like to state my dismay at seeing Councilor Weeks deliver the invocation at both the January 21 and the March 18 meetings. I understand that on both occasions the councilor was filling in for an absent religious leader, but even so, it seems highly inappropriate to me for anyone in the official capacity as city councilor in a city council meeting to offer a public prayer. It is one thing to allow leaders from various faith communities to give religious invocations; it is quite another altogether to have a member of the city government in his official role lead a religious ceremony. If the issue has already been addressed, then I apologize.
Thank you both for your time and your service.
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Let me know what you think: Bad, good, exaggerated, waste of time, best letter ever?
