Liberals or Conservatives? Mojo wants to know

The Editors,

I could tell that Mojo had been sitting on something other than his hind legs for awhile. I got around to asking him what he was thinking about. "Are we liberals or conservatives?", he asked. Well, Mojo, I imagine we have to define those words. In my understanding, being liberal means to liberally apply that which is best, often from new concepts, and to be conservative is to conserve that which is best, often from time tested concepts. I suppose we are liberal conservatives or conservative liberals. You know its kind of like you; part black lab and part golden retriever. Often a mix of concepts is best.

 I asked Mojo what got him thinking about which category to put us in. He shared the column he read a while back in the Times. The column written by Mr. [John] Brock apparently attacked liberals for having split personalities; confused in their thinking. His examples of their confused thinking included the search for energy, the death penalty, abortion and religion in public life. Oh yes, I shared, I remember. Well, Mojo, the difficulty with the column is that it did not recognize the ambiguities of the real world and the difficulty of knowing what is best. For example, I'm all for broadening our search for fossil fuel. However, I know that source of energy is finite and will run out. It is only a stop gap. We must pursue alternative sources. I also know that we need to be very careful not to damage creation in the process. Creation ain't ours to begin with. The congressman I worked with was on the committee that oversaw the clean up of the Exxon Valdez, the tanker that ran aground off Alaska. What a mess. And we all know about the Gulf. What if we woke up one morning and discovered that the herons in our marsh were covered with oil? I want to conserve creation. Does that make me a liberal or a conservative? I'm opposed to the death penalty; not because of the method of execution. My doctoral work was in criminal justice and I know that the death penalty lulls society into a false sense of security. We think that we have done something about violent crime by putting someone to death. We haven't. There are even studies that show that violent crime goes up before and after an execution. And then there is the cost to the taxpayer. Millions upon millions of dollars are spent on appeals in death penalty cases. Then why not just do away with appeals? The appeal process protects us from the power of government. I'm a firm believer in life without parole. Get dangerous people off the street and save money. Does that make me liberal or conservative? And now abortion. Its okay Mojo. (Mojo is ducking his head.) He is not sure we ought to write about that. It is a no win situation. You're right, Mojo and that is precisely why it is a good example. I am not in favor of abortion. However, I know that in a fallen world, there are times when a woman making a tough decision with counsel from her doctor and other resources (including her faith) needs to have that option on the table. I don't want government in the mix. It is her decision. Way back I remember when a minister colleague of mine, who was a chaplain at a church-related college, got into some hot water. He was a trustee of a fund that had been set up to counsel young pregnant woman as to their options. He was called before a church body to explain his actions. He stood and said quietly, "The fund in question was set up by the parents of a young woman, a student at the college. She died at the hands of a back alley abortionist. They do not want someone else's daughter to suffer the same fate." Is that a liberal or a conservative position?

In my opinion, the column really stepped into fuzzy thinking when the writer suggested that liberals ban expression of the Judeo-Christian religious heritage from the public scene, schools, etc. while supporting teaching religious tolerance. I'm a retired Presbyterian minister whose Calvinist ancestors gave a representative form of government to our nation. James Madison was a student of John Witherspoon, Presbyterian President of Princeton, and the only clergy to sign the Declaration of Independence. No wonder the Constitution is full of theological concepts. We have checks and balances because of Calvin's doctrine of total depravity (we can do no good save by the grace of God and left to our own designs we are all capable of doing rotten things). As an infantry officer before going to seminary I swore to protect and defend that Constitution. In what has come to be called the separation of church and state, we are careful not to impose the church on the state or the state on the church. We don't separate religious value from forming public policy, all faiths are free to give input in the process of forming public policy, but we are careful not to give one faith a position of superiority over another so as to open the door to particular religious control over government. I believe that it is important to keep the institution of the state separate from the institution of the church. Does that make me a liberal or a conservative?

In my opinion, the greatest danger to our nation is the labeling of people. As we wrestle with important personal, community and national issues, the stakes are too high and the issues are too complex for us not to have the benefit of the wisdom of all of us Labeling and stereotyping drive a wedge between all persons of good will and make it that much more difficult to gather everyone around the table.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Dr. Jim Watkin and Mojo

Pawleys Island

Heartfelt thanks

My father, Lewis Randolph Elliott Sr. passed away on January 23, 2012. It was a difficult time for myself and my family. I cannot begin to tell you what a comfort it was to receive so much love and support from everyone. We have truly been blessed with a large network of friends and family.

I would like to start by thanking Graham Funeral Home, being that Daddy worked for the Grahams, I am sure there was a lot of added pressure on them. They went out of their way to accommodate all of Daddy's wishes. I hope they know how much it meant to Daddy and to us. Next I would like to thank everyone at First Baptist Church, our church family, especially the ones who helped in the kitchen. They prepared a wonderful meal and fed our large family. I would especially like to thank Pastor Ted Sherrill, Jay Holmes, and Keith Wall. I used to tease Pastor Ted that I always wanted to be a pastor. I told him they only work one day a week and eat at other people’s homes the rest of the week. Honestly though, these wonderful men are called on seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day and have never let us down. They will never know what they mean to all of us. I would like to thank the men and women of First Assembly of God. They graciously prepared food and again fed our family for days at Mom and Dad's house. First Assembly is my wife's church and the people who attend this church are wonderful and have such big hearts. There is a special place in our hearts for the family members who jumped in and took the daunting task of keeping the food straight and continuously cleaning and organizing. Thank you all so much.

I would like to thank the Georgetown Police Department and Georgetown County Sheriff’s Department for their professionalism and keeping the large processional moving nicely. I would like to thank those that pulled off to the side of the road. Small acts of respect such as this aren't always practiced anymore but are truly appreciated. Tidelands Hospice, where Daddy spent his last few days, is a wonderful staple in this community. Everyone there was so warm, and caring, and all have amazing attitudes. We thank you all.

Please forgive me if I have forgotten anyone. I know that I have one more general thank you and that is to the Georgetown Community at large. The love we were shown throughout his illness and our loss was truly overwhelming and will never be forgotten.

A heart-felt thank you,

Joanne, The Elliott Family, and The Pope Family.

Craig Elliott

Georgetown

More on John Brock column

It's hard for me to stomach the ranting of John Brock published in the Waccamaw Times on February 2, 2012 [and the Georgetown Times on January 30] with regard to what he calls … “left wing zealots”. I'm not sure what he taught as a professor, but it's comforting to know that none of my loved ones have ever had to endure his blinders approach to the world in which we live. In addition I'm glad that I was not one of the unfortunate students subjected to his right wing zealot views.

Before you as the reader of this letter misidentify me as a leftist liberal, be assured that I am not. I just don't think that religion has a place in political discussion, but in Mr. Brock’s view, it is the hammer that drives the nail.

1. Mr. Brock asserts that liberals are for curtailing the world's population, but are in favor of open borders to the U.S. Seriously? I'm not sure where he gets his information, but I've never heard liberals say they're for open borders. Are they for curtailing world population?? You bet! Mr. Brock should do the math and tell me at what point will the earth not be able to sustain all of the humans inhabiting it? Try reading “The Population Bomb” by Paul Erlich.

2. Mr. Brock thinks that wind and solar power are a waste of time and we should drill baby drill. He states that we've got enough unclaimed oil and gas reserves to last us 100 years. I guess my 1st question would have to be, what happens after 100 years? Should we not be concerned with the future past that point? Or should we use up all the gas and oil and hope for the best? Should we be investing in alternate sources of energy? You bet! Wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, and any other form of energy that will keep the world turning should be invested in. Should it be regulated and kept safe? Again, you bet! $1.50 for a gallon of gas? Who is he trying to convince? In fact, the faster we deplete the world's oil supply the higher the price will get. The more alternative sources of energy there are, the less dependent on oil we become, and guess what? That's right, the price goes down. Apparently economics was not Mr. Brock's forte.

3. Mr. Brock seems to think that if you don't think “family” includes a father, a mother, and any number of children, you're “loose with your definition of family.” He goes on to say that same-sex marriages are “deviant” behaviors. Really? The Catholic Church seems to have had its share of deviants and they will still tell you that if you practice birth control you're going to hell.

4. Mr. Brock then goes on to say that “lefties call conservative leaders brutal despots and compare them to Hitler.” Was he living under a rock for the 2008 election? Wasn't Obama compared to Hitler, Stalin, and any number of other socialistic, fascist, leaders? He goes on to say that our young should be taught critical individual thinking rather than being taught their professor's personal and often misguided philosophies. This was the only sentence with which I agree with Mr. Brock. Our teachers should be teaching our children about different religions, philosophies and beliefs. That includes Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism et al. They should not be teaching them that that's the way it should or has to be.

Lastly, Mr. Brock states that liberals complain about the restrictive doctrine of the Christian church. I'm not sure how you substantiate this, nor do I think you can. My observations have been such that no one with a sense of learning and logic can complain about something they don't believe in. Those that Mr. Brock complains about simply want to keep religion, facts, and politics separate. Period. Maybe after reading this he should visit his own house of worship and pray that those nasty little leftist zealots don't infect his little world any more than they already have.

Eric J. Muller

Pawleys Island