THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505110008
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Columnist Frank Rich (``Did `promoters of paranoia' incite the Oklahoma City bombing?'' Perspectives, May 1) stoops to a new low in his ongoing assault against religious broadcaster Pat Robertson by attempting to link him to the Oklahoma City bombing. To suggest that Mr. Robertson's writings are somehow tied to the tragedy is offensive and absurd.
On April 20, the day after the bombing, Mr. Robertson asked his national television audience to pray for the victims and their families. He also condemned both the bombing and the mind-set behind it.
This is what Mr. Robertson told his viewing audience on April 24: ``If this land is to stay free, it must be ruled by law and order. And if we do not like the administration of justice, or the administration of government, then we should use peaceable means to change it. That's what the Constitution provides for us - not armed rebellion, and bombing innocent civilians. . . . This is totally against the commands of Jesus Christ.''
Mr. Robertson's 1991 book, The New World Order, is not a handbook for revolution. It carries no message of hate or violence. It merely examines and raises legitimate policy questions that had been brought to the forefront by the Bush administration during the Persian Gulf war.
Further, Mr. Robertson has hardly cornered the market on the use of the phrase ``new world order.'' In fact, a Lexis/Nexis computer search dating back to 1991, when Mr. Robertson's book was published, reveals that the phrase was widely used by many people other than Mr. Robertson. The computer search identified more than 22,400 stories which used the phrase ``new world order.'' That's an average of 14 stories each day for the past 4 1/2 years.
It is Mr. Rich who is guilty of embracing a conspiracy theory regarding the tragedy in Oklahoma City. His comments represent a disturbing pattern of blame that's developed into what Washington Post columnist Meg Greenfield calls ``an insidious national habit.'' In a May 1 editorial, Ms. Greenfield writes: ``It is the infuriating and unfailing propensity we seem to have as a people to deflect guilt and even responsibility away from individuals who have done wrong onto some much larger aggregation of `forces' or factors. . . ''
Clearly, the focus should be on the terrorists who planned and executed this bombing - and on Oklahoma City, where so many people still need prayer and assistance.
GENE KAPP
Vice president, public relations
Christian Broadcasting Network Inc.
Virginia Beach, May 4, 1995 by CNB