Dear Christian Right,

Thank you for your advice on how I could be a more moral person. While I am looking into whether or not depriving gays and lesbians of family rights is a spiritually healthy practice or whether or not a constitutionally protected reproductive health procedure should be struck down by activist Evangelical judges, may I offer you some ideas for your own reflection as well?

War is a Moral Issue
Many of us believe that a war based on lies is immoral. We also believe that a president who allows over 1100 American sons and daughters to die because of lies is acting in an immoral manner. We were told outright that Saddam had weapons to use against us. We were told that he was assisting Al Qaeda in their attacks against us and others. Then we watched as both of these were exposed as lies and were endlessly edited on an almost weekly basis, from having weapons to making weapons to having the capacity to make weapons to wanting to make weapons. We were not attacked by Iraq and we did not exhaust every possible action before going to war. That is not a "just war". It would be hard to argue that Jesus would even accept our own criteria for a "just war" in light of his admonitions to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. War is a moral issue.

Economics is a Moral Issue
One of the greatest concerns Jesus had was to care for the poor. Are we taking care of our poor when a tax cut gives the most money back to those who already have the most money? Or when we engage in policies that seek to reduce the incomes of millions of workers by taking away their overtime pay? Or when we allow the medical coverage of millions of people to lapse because it has become unaffordable? Or when we engage in practices that reward large corporations seeking a higher bottom line at the expense of their hard working employees? Economics is a moral issue.

Idolatry is a Moral Issue
In your wide-spread turn to our government to carry out the will of the Christian Right, you have abandoned our God. We are told to trust in God. The changes that we desire for the world can not be brought about through laws and policies, but through grace and compassion. Bush and the government can not save us. For that matter, Kerry can not save us, either. The difference is that Evangelicals flocked to march under Bush's banner with such an idolatrous fervor that that Bush comes across as your new savior from those who do not share your cultural views. You went so far as to paint those who did not agree with you as being apostates and heretics. Even if you do not believe this to be true, where is your public outcry while the media portrays the issue in this way? Your silence speaks volumes. Idolatry is a moral issue.


It seems that we have much to think about. I hope that we can find common ground in our faith. I hope you can forgive any anger or frustration that comes out in this letter. I also hope that you can come to understand why there is anger and frustration, without attributing it to some un-Christian source. I do believe morals had much to do with this election, but it is not the Christian Right who owns the moral discourse.

Sincerely,
The Christian Left