What would you say to someone telling you, "My religious freedom depends on you worshiping my God?" Or that you can't eat certain foods because it is against the aforementioned's religion? Might you tell that person that in America we have religious freedom, and if they don't like it they can move to someplace like Iran? You'll worship your higher power the way you wish, and they can worship theirs similarly.

But I hear of people in this country making just such arguments today, and it saddens me. They claim that their religious freedom is infringed by someone else's actions, behavior or simple existence. And, no, they are not talking about someone who tries to burn down their church or threatens their life because of their beliefs.

I've heard this argument put forward on more than one issue lately, and I fear I may hear it expanded even more in the future. I'm not quite sure where this has come from. It puzzles me. It saddens me.

Our forefathers fled, in part, from religious tyranny. The gift of religious freedom demands sacrifice: We cannot demand others practice as we do. But neither can they demand it of us.

STEPHEN GARINGER, Kennewick