Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: A view from the Left

Tuesday, March 9, 2004 | 9:14 a.m.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS of the Right.

My friend Melinda Bates spent eight years working for the Clinton White House. During that time, she heard, saw and probably almost did it all. She is, what I would call, an expert in the political field.

She wrote me the following letter because she had an itch to scratch and no other way to make her viewpoint known. As you will read in her preamble, she thinks a "conservative" newspaper like the Sun needs a different perspective from time to time. I agree.

What follows is her letter and her viewpoint. It is righteous, to say the least, and conservative in its message:

"Dear Brian,

"After eight full years in the White House I became an incorrigible political junkie. After all, eight years there is so intense it's like dog years, so we used to joke it should really count as 24. That's a long time to be in the belly of the beast. I miss it, of course, and continue to have strong opinions about just about everything. My friends think a lot of it is original, and suggest it might be of interest to others. While I know the Sun reflects your conservative viewpoint, I thought your readers might enjoy an occasional different perspective. I'd be honored if you wanted to publish this.

By Melinda Bates

"What is it with the Right and Righteousness?

"W and Rove get the troops all revved up about gay marriages as a threat to the stability of the planet. The Attorney General demands women's private medical records so that he (not an MD, the last time I looked) can determine the medical necessity of abortions. You know, if a man is uncomfortable standing in front of a classical statue that reveals a woman's breasts, maybe he's not the best qualified to take on that particular issue. The administration's point men in the agencies remove material about contraception and sex education from websites that, while accurate, are inconveniently at odds with the President's agenda and offends his base.

"For years I've been watching the Right dominate the public discourse over what is "right" for the country. They always frame it in pretty religious talk. And we on the Left never challenge them on their own ground. Shame on us. It's not as if there isn't plenty of ammo for this fight. There is, but we have to be willing to get into the debate and stop being cowed into silence.

"This latest salvo over gay marriage clearly demonstrates once and for all the essential hypocrisy of the Right. Isn't this the party that's for states' rights? Guess not. Guess they are for states' rights as long as they agree with the state, but only then. Isn't this the party that says it's for less government intrusion into our lives? Guess not. Guess they only believe in hands-off when it comes to Enron's financial shenanigans, or corporations moving overseas for the tax breaks or energy companies writing national energy policy. When it comes to our most private lives, and most painful decisions, the administration not only wants to be part of the discussion, they insist on telling us what to do.

"Well, I have news for the Right: Lots of us "liberals" believe the Bible too, and the way I read it, there is a whole lot more direction from God regarding how we treat the poor and helpless, how we comfort the afflicted, how we use God's resources and blessings to work righteousness and justice in our neighborhoods, communities and world than there is about you sticking your nose into my private life. Don't get me wrong -- we're just as interested as anyone in living a decent and honorable life. But we also believe there's a lot more to decency and honor than sexual purity as defined by Bush and Ashcroft.

"When was the last time you heard one of these smug, self-righteous arbiters of morality discourse on feeding the hungry, clothing the naked (that would be those who are naked because of poverty, not licentiousness), housing the homeless, being good stewards of the riches God has provided and generally working righteousness (true righteousness) on behalf of the helpless? We are the greatest, most prosperous nation on earth. I believe that comes from God's blessing. Can even the most sanctimonious right-wing moralizer insist that those blessings are just for the few who are already in the club? Jesus said, what we do to the least of our brethren we do to Him. I'd like to see a lot more of that idea brought into the public discussion about morality. Government as an agent of hope and help for the desperate and needy here at home and around the world -- a rig hteous idea from the Left."