3 Letters to the Editor on "Moral Values" from Southern newspaper

[checks-n-balances]

Posted on Sat, Nov. 13, 2004

Does `moral values' mean we care for poor?
Thanks for your profile of Gerald Hixson ("Reactions to Gerald say a lot about us," Ken Garfield, Nov. 6).I have found my life touched recently by the plight of many homeless people. It has often been said, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." The recent turn of events in the election leaves me wondering whether a majority of people are more concerned with protecting themselves and their personal wealth than with providing a safety net for the most vulnerable among us. All the talk of "moral values" rings hollow when I see where it is headed.

Continue to open our eyes to those things we need to see even when it isn't comfortable.

XXX XXXXXX
Charlotte

Yes, `moral values' means we care for poor
I'm appalled by the woman who called Gerald a bum because he could work if he wanted to. That comment really encapsulated for me why I am so bummed out after the presidential election.

I'd bet money this woman voted for George Bush. To me, service to those who are less fortunate is the very essence of "moral values," and I'm sad that the Republican Party has co-opted that phrase to mean those who stand up to gay rights and gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research, and who don't question our government's decisions on anything.

XXXXXXX XXXXX
Charlotte

Rather than judging, Christians should help
Thanks for the column regarding our job as Christians. It seems that so much of what we hear from "Christians" these days involves judging others, rather than helping them.

XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX
Charlotte

From LTTE section of:
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/living/religion/10171148.htm

[sandnsea]

1. Judgement without compassion

Or what I call, condemning to hell. That's what they do and that's not what they're called to do.

Good to see some people speaking out on the hypocrisy.

[itzamirakul]

5. I guess we have to remember..

that there a large numbers of "blue" voters living in those "red" states.

[acmavm]

2. That's the really ironic thing about all these jerks who call themselves

'Christians'. They're willing to beat up on the weak and the poor, but when it comes to showing decency and real values you'll find that they're pretty much moral bankrupts.

[Stephanjnj]

4. It's a self-serving facade

As long as so-called evangelicals are on record as being "against" something (and any position taken must fit into a strict category that will not wind up costing them a plug nickel) they can deceive themselves into thinking that they're "morally righteous". To be "for" something ususally involves a commitment of some sort. Those parts of the New Testament that admonish us to assist those less fortunate than ourselves are conveniently cast aside. Institutionalized ignorance remains the catalyst for success, greed (more $$ in my pocket, screw "them")is the motivator, and self-deception is the enabler.

[laheina]

3. At our paper

these letters would never get past the editorial board. I live in an evenly divided county, but to read our paper's op-ed pages you would think that I lived in Wyoming.

[liberalmuse]

6. This is an example...

of why we shouldn't discount The South or lump everyone who lives there into a certain category. There are a lot of progressives living in Red States--and they're damn fine people, too, as these letters demonstrate.