I know I am, but what are you? By Warren Bluhm News-Chronicle So this is how Northern Ireland and the Middle East started: A name called here, a name called there, and pretty soon things get really nasty if you don't pay attention. Last week I caught myself not paying attention. Actually, it was a couple of writers who caught me. They noticed that I shifted abruptly from a discussion of the First Amendment into painting all atheists with a broad, and somewhat ugly, brush. I usually prefer to let letter writers have the last word in any dialogue, so I don't respond in this column to people who criticize me in letters to the editor. Sometimes, though, I try to anticipate that criticism and launch a "pre-emptive strike," responding to what I think critics might say. That's my only explanation - not an excuse - for writing about "evangelists" for atheism whose goal is to wipe discussion of religious themes from the public stage. The issue of a young woman singing a Christian song at her public high school graduation seems tailor-made for such folks, whose fervor not to allow their neighbors to be exposed to the Gospel matches the intensity of a tent-show revival preacher. Sure enough (I thought), I got one e-mail from a guy named Mike Drake, who even put a link to my column on his Web site (http://home.earthlink.net/~thedrakesplace/home.htm) to show his readers how fatuous guys like me, who believe in an "invisible man in the sky," can be. I wrote him back and said his condescending comments were typical of what I expected when I wrote about the subject. That's when he got me: "If my sort of response is 'typical' of responses you get when writing on this topic, maybe the problem isn't the topic itself," he wrote. "You cannot, after all, expect a lullaby when you effectively cabin a whole class of persons - in this case, atheists - under the rubric 'obnoxious evangelists.'" No, you can't. And to the vast majority of atheists who are willing to live and let live, I apologize. My argument is always with the censors, not with those who are willing to listen or at least be tolerant. And I crossed the line into intolerance with my remarks last week. Anyone who takes a public stand is stuck with the extremists on the fringes of their issues. Pro-lifers have to waste time disavowing Eric Rudolph, the alleged murderer of abortionists. Environmentalists are stuck with the Unabomber, who committed terrorism to save the planet. By embracing conservative Christianity, I link myself with bigots who deny there can be other visions of God, just as atheists link themselves with bigots who would shut off any conversation about an almighty. Most people, I think, accept that the beauty of America is all of these ideas living together in peace. I'll try not to lose sight of that beauty again. Bluhm is editor of the Door County Advocate and former managing editor of The News-Chroncile. His column appears Tuesdays. Contact him via e-mail at [email protected] or call 920-743-3321