Bill,
As I mentioned to Faldage, I got the wrong poem. Smithy must have been the one I really liked and I confused it with the other one that grated.
Regarding the atheism thing, it's not important to my point. Just an example. Let me make it general. I think X. I teach my kids X. I have no problem with other people (teachers, for example) reinforcing X to my kids. And since I think I'm right, on some level I think it would be good if other people taught X to their kids, but I know there are people who believe X' (not X). And so, if other parents find X really offensive, I wouldn't want to do an end run around them and try to teach their kids X against their wishes. (Because I wouldn't like it if they did that to me.)
There's a distinction between what I believe we should read, what I think we should compel others to read, and what I think we should have available for everyone to read.
As for the ultimate orgins of the Universe, I claim utter ignorance. I do distinguish among a. personal deity (as espoused in the Bible, the Quran, etc), b. naturalistic (mystical?) versions (Spinoza, Einstein, etc), and c. the general versions of creator and/or commander-in-chief. I reject 'a' outright. I don't even understand 'b' and as for 'c' I think my belief one way or the other would be irrelevant. I'm sympathetic to religion, though. I think that people can control what they profess and how they act, but that for the most part they can't control what they actually believe.
k
