THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 2, 1995 TAG: 9508020007
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Donald Simon (letters, July 23) recently quacked about President Clinton ``inconveniencing'' the people because of some ``liberal'' idea to impose a ban on certain revered instruments of death.
The Constitution, to which Simon disingenuously referred, was conceived and fought for by liberals! Yes! Our cherished freedoms are of liberal origin.
Some liberal causes of the past: independence from England, opposition to slavery, abolishment of child-labor exploitation, protest of the slaughter of Native Americans, advocacy of public education and the 40-hour workweek, equal rights, cleaner environments, better wage distribution, etc.
Conservatives have historically been: tories, pro-slavery, imposers of the 50-plus hour workweek, opponents of public education, racist vilifiers of non-European peoples, enslavers of women, good-ol'-boys-club members, environmental destroyers, advocates of cheap labor - including child labor - and others.
It is time for conservatives to take a solemn look at their past and realize that progress comes from the left and reaction from the right. Only then will Mr. Simon realize that his primordial obsession with instruments of death is unhealthy in the post-Neanderthal world.
PATRICK F. BRADY
Virginia Beach, July 23, 1995 by CNB