MILLION-MAN MARCH GIVES MIXED SIGNALS

Washington seemed almost abandoned Monday. So many businesses and workers were afraid of massive traffic jams that they took the day off. All of us at Family Research Council had the easiest commute of the year.

As I write this, crowd estimates haven't been made yet. No doubt there will be major controversy about the final number. It is also clear that the majority of the men who came here came for a good purpose. Rebuilding the black family should be the top priority of the civil rights movement, and it was encouraging to see so many people talking about that goal. Atonement is something all of us should be interested in.

But those good people could be more than canceled out if the march has the effect of elevating Louis Farrakhan and his hate-filled agenda to a leadership role in the black community.

Over the weekend, Farrakhan sympathizers held a Black Holocaust Nationhood Convention. It would be impossible to repeat all of the outrageous things that were said by the speakers and cheered by the attendees. For example, City College of New York professor Leonard Jeffries called George Washington and Thomas Jefferson "slave master Founding Father bastards." Another speaker, former staffer in the Chicago city government, urged the crowd to instigate division among whites. "Any time we can instigate white-on-white violence, it is in our interest." At the same meeting, Jesus was referred to as the "Antichrist" and Vatican leaders were called "a lot of white faggot boys."

This disgusting rhetoric is similar to things Farrakhan has said over and over again. They aren't "gaffes" or "slips of the tongue." They reflect a radial political philosophy that can destroy the country. Racism, white or black, is unacceptable.

But what has been the reaction of the media and the leading politicians? Virtual silence. President Clinton, who has labeled Gingrich, Dole and anyone else who wants to balance the budget as "extremist," can't bring himself to use the word to describe Farrakhan. the media that quickly labels conservative reforms as racist appear to be afraid to use that word to describe the rhetoric of the march organizers. Imagine what would happen if similar rhetoric were used as a conservative or right-to-life gathering.

In the months ahead, let's pray that the decent elements in Washington today will prevail over those forces that would exploit our divisions and destroy the country in the process.

Gary L. Bauer is the president of Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.