Letter to the Editor

Liberal, Christian values match

To the editor:

I appreciated Robert Polack Jr.'s recent letter about liberal values, Christianity and the poor. I agree with him 100 percent.

It has occurred to me lately that many of the people around me don't really understand the difference between liberal and conservative values. They think that it's all about abortion and gay rights, but that's not really it. Conservative values include individualism, the accumulation and worship of material wealth and self-reliance, which is most often just an excuse for being self-centered. I've never really understood how these values fit with Christianity, which for me is about serving others -- especially the poor, lessening my ego and spiritual growth. Jesus never taught us to accumulate wealth while others are in need.

Conservatives have managed to draw attention away from the core of liberal values, which include creating opportunities for everyone, assuring that everyone is treated fairly and our common responsibility to look out for the most vulnerable among us. To me, these values, which have been at the root of liberal legislation and politics for decades, are much more in sync with Christianity.

So I'm a proud liberal and a Christian, and I see no problem with this. In fact, I couldn't call myself a Christian and subscribe to what conservatives are doing now to the poor. I could never help the wealthy with tax cuts, spend huge amounts on the military, cut funding for the poor and then call myself a Christian.

CHARMAGNE SCHNEIDER, Cape Girardeau