6680 Magnolia St.

Commerce City, CO 80022

October 11, 2010

The Open Forum

The Denver Post
101 W. Colfax Ave. Suite 600
Denver, CO 80202

Dear Editor:

Mike Keefe’s “Burning the Koran” cartoon appeared in The Denver Post on September 8th.
Although I don’t find much humor in a drawing of a soldier escaping firing missiles and bullets,
I think Keefe is making a good point in his cartoon.

The soldier in Keefe’s cartoon is flying out of a jeep that got blown up by a bomb. The soldier is
holding a letter sarcastically thanking Reverend Jones for burning the Koran. The soldier is
showing an annoyed expression. The cartoon seems humorous but the point is clear.

I like how Keefe gave the soldier an annoyed expression rather than a scared one. When
Reverend Jones wanted to burn the Koran, the soldiers in the Middle East probably were more
annoyed with this man than scared about what would come next. There are a lot of missiles and
bullets flying towards the soldier; apparently Jones’ idea about burning the Koran did make
many Muslims in the Middle East angry with the U.S. As a religious man, I don’t blame them.

I don’t like the fact that our country is involved in a war at the other end of the globe. I don’t like
to fight or argue and I am definitely against war but our country is in a war and we have soldiers
fighting and losing their lives for the sake of another country. We don’t have to support the war
but have to support our troops. In the cartoon, the soldier is holding up a letter for Reverend
Jones that concludes by sarcastically saying, “Thanks for your support.”

This issue goes further into religion but I won’t go more into that. My point of view is this: not
everyone in the world thinks or believes what you do. It doesn’t matter; we’re all humans alike.
Respect what I believe and I will be happy to respect what you believe, even if they’re opposite
ideas.

Sincerely,

Luis Salazar