Thousands of years of organized religion have done nothing to solve any problems and have almost always exacerbated them by promoting fear, superstition, and irrational mythologies. Kneeling in prayer to some supernatural entity seeking “divine guidance” or, even more implausibly, “divine intervention,” is not only a waste of time, it is counterproductive because it lulls the supplicant into inactivity.
We must stand up, open our eyes, and face life’s challenges head-on in a problem-solving approach that is reality-based, empirical, and above all, rational.

The following selections were taken from the letters-to-the-editor section of a newspaper. Each can be interpreted as expressing one or more arguments. Begin by identifying the conclusion of each. Then disengage the covert assumptions, value claims, and other cognitive assertions from the emotive language and translate them into emotively neutral premises. Use the two examples in the text as models. Finally, evaluate the restructured arguments. Some may turn out to be good ones.