David Hegg is showing he doesn’t understand the founding ideas of our country (“Toward an Ethical Patriotism,” Nov. 3). Though I live over the hill in North Hollywood now, I am a proud product of the Santa Clarita K-12 school system, and the crux of his argument doesn’t match what I learned there. While I would agree with many of the points he made, especially the point about being properly informed, he fumbles the ball at the goal line by saying how “we can see the erosion of traditional values is rapidly occurring,” and then listing things that are rooted in Christian religious authority and connecting them to ethical patriotism. His claim, “We need a return to real patriotism, where we put God before country and country before self,” flies in the face of the First Amendment and the freedom of religion.  It implies the only way to be patriotic, and by extension a real American, is to subscribe to a specific Christian outlook on morality. This is insulting to millions of Americans who are not Christian. I do not begrudge Mr. Hegg or anyone else who wishes to live their life according to religious guidelines of any type. That is their right as an American. But they do not have a right to force the rest of us to live according to their doctrine. Mr. Hegg took a topic that is dividing our community and our country, started out with some great points to try and improve the situation, but then in his closing used the same blaming and othering rhetoric (albeit with softer wording than others) that has so divided us in the first place.  I am not trying to convince Mr. Hegg to adopt my secular worldview. I accept his right to a religious outlook. What I am asking is that if Mr. Hegg truly wants to see an ethical patriotism from all Americans, one that helps bring us together rather than divide us, he doesn’t frame it as a need to follow specific religious precepts.  Erik Larsen North Hollywood The post Erik Larsen | Columnist Fumbles at the Goal Line appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.