It’s hard to reply to something of the caliber of Mr. Geary’s April 13 letter, “AAA shouldn’t be on front page.” Past the first paragraph – which is completely correct (we should have had a story) there is so much in this letter that is simply wrong that it’s difficult to know where to begin.

Yes, Mr. Geary, even as an atheist, I just asserted that something is wrong. Atheists very much can believe in right and wrong, and our justification for our morality is a hell of a lot better than yours.

The religious fundamentalists – I use this word to avoid making generalizations – have been and are able to justify genocide, unfounded capital punishment, subjugation, murder and terrorism with the will of God. I certainly believe most Christians today would be appalled by the Salem witch trials, but Christians past were quite alright with burning the innocent alive. Did the word of the Almighty change?

What stays constant, Mr. Geary, is people. Wholesale slaughter, murder and persecution are never going to improve the general well-being of the community, no matter when in time you look. The things that ameliorate social welfare now are the things that always have and always will do so.

Now, I don’t have time to address the flaws in Mr. Geary’s reasoning or to point out how secular European countries are themselves counterarguments to his point about education. I’ll leave these to the other letters this paper will likely get from my friends in the campus atheist community. All I mean to do here is explain that we do believe in right and wrong. We believe in good.

Douglas Weathers is a sophomore majoring in mathematics.