Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9506300030
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
I know, as an ordinary member of the Christian Coalition, that this editorial sadly misrepresents the coalition's objectives. A few notions that need to be corrected.
Initially, it must be made clear that the Christian Coalition is a nonprofit citizens' organization, is nonpartisan, doesn't endorse any political candidate or party, doesn't contribute funds to political parties and doesn't raise funds for political candidates.
However, the Christian Coalition does stand for mainstream values that uphold the American family, supports principles this great nation was founded upon and opposes discrimination as an ideological concept.
The inaccurate editorial raises the question of whether someone who disagrees `` ... with the particulars of their agenda ... '' is `` ... something less than a family-loving, right-thinking loyal American and good Christian.'' This is a prime example of the doublespeak that's being used by the media to decry groups that hold fast to traditional values and yearn to see some morality in this nation's politics.
The coalition supports the separation of church and state as outlined in the U.S. Constitution, thereby refuting the claim in the editorial that says the coalition wants to `` ... transform America into a Christian nation.''
(There is no religious test to participate in the coalition. And as a coalition member, I don't condemn anyone for expressing a different viewpoint or belief, whether religious or political.)
Finally, the Contract with the American Family is a pro-family agenda designed to augment the GOP's Contract With America, which is about public policy and not religion. Anyone who knows even a little about constitutional history must admit that this nation's founding fathers intended that policy be guided by morality.
KEVIN D. EWING
ROANOKE
Distrust seeps from pipeline issue
I CAN'T believe Virginia has decided to dissolve the commonwealth and divide into separate states along political power lines! Greed has caused Virginia Beach to demand something for itself, not caring about the impact on other parts of the commonwealth.
It should be our governor's responsibility to make sure that this doesn't happen, and that any decision made for one part of the state doesn't adversely impact on other communities in the state. Areas of the state without political clout should receive equal consideration. Deception and underhanded dealings instigated by Virginia Beach are an extremely poor example of the concern we should have for our neighbors.
Our substantial investment in a home at Smith Mountain Lake is jeopardized by Virginia Beach's greed. As long as possible, plans were kept under wraps so that we who invested most of our retirement resources were not aware of the planned takeover of the Roanoke River. If we had been aware, we would have seriously considered retirement elsewhere.
If political capital forces an agreement upon us, at the very least the pipeline must be scaled back to a maximum of the 60 million gallons per day that Virginia Beach officials have stated ``is all that will ever be needed.'' The way this theft of a valuable resource was handled, they cannot be trusted.
WILLIAM K. and JOYCE F. KEESEE
MONETA
Unlimited births: unrelenting hunger
PERHAPS JOHN C. LeDoux (June 17 letter to the editor, ``Arguments aside, a life is at stake'') would have a different view of abortion if he lived in one or another of the world's biggest slums - say, Calcutta, India, or Sao Paulo, Brazil. If he had to send his supernumerary children out every day into the garbage dumps that ring such cities (and are actually home to thousands), he might see that allowing unlimited births is a losing proposition.
Certainly, the more children he had, the more rags, scraps and crusts of bread they would be able to reap from the rubbish. Such is life in the rest of the world, which hasn't the resources to squander at the expense of others as we have in this great country of ours.
Abortion is a wrong that won't be corrected until world population is stabilized, and every child is planned and desired, which may be never. Nor is abortion the answer to the Third World's food shortages. But there could be another solution to the food predicament - bring all babies to term, then think one word: Veal.
Sure, it probably won't go over too well with John Paul II under the mitre, but the church can change. At one time, the torture of the infidel was de rigueur. And remember the Children's Crusade.
Only time will tell.
KERMIT W. SALYER JR.
ROANOKE
by CNB