Thank you for your excellent editorial in regard to Mr. Atamanenko’s ill-conceived private members bill (“Why pay for the military,” December 2).
It is not hard to guess the constituency of his who might be objectors in conscience. Nobody likes war, and it is not hard to understand a people who were once subject to being cannon-fodder for a Czar. But I would think that they and their children and grandchildren have been in this country long enough to enjoy our freedoms, most of which have been won or defended by our citizen-soldiers, sailors and airmen. So recently since Remembrance Day, they might also note that many of them were maimed or lost their lives.
I have no use for religion and less for those who look for a free ride instead doing their share whether it is in the use of our tax money or their participation when it comes to serving our country in some way other than avoiding their duty.
Maurice Rhodes
Nelson