Letter: We all have different tastes — accept it

Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006 | 8:17 a.m.

I have not seen the movie "Brokeback Mountain" and I probably never will. I also have not seen "The Passion of the Christ" and I probably never will. And the only reason I saw "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was because I had to find something to do with four young children all under the age of 9 after they opened -- and became bored with -- their Christmas presents.

There have been a slew of letters recently debating the perceived merits and faults of a movie about gay cowboys in the early 1960s compared with movies espousing Christian themes. Some writers have gone so far as to say that box-office take outweighs critical acclaim, and vice versa, as a reflection of a film's "quality."

While different movies appeal to people with different tastes, that fact does not make one "better" or "more appropriate" than the next. I mean, my all-time favorite movies are "Casablanca," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Pulp Fiction" and "Citizen Kane." But does that mean I believe people who like "Brokeback Mountain" or "The Passion of the Christ" are "wrong" in some way? No, they just have different tastes in movies than me. And that is the bottom line: We're all different, so get over yourselves.

However, I would like to address letter writer Art Fahy's Jan. 24 comment that "society has removed prayer from our schools." Need we remind Mr. Fahy that the reason we do not have prayer in school is the same reason that the government does not impose taxes on churches -- it's called the constitutionally protected separation of church and state. It is a line that cannot and should not be erased but instead should be preserved and cherished for the benefit of the religious as well as the secular.

Tom Bradley Jr.

Henderson