Will On Values Voters

You might say we don't quote George Will a whole lot here. There's no reason for that, he just doesn't rise to the top of the "bloggable" list very often. I guess he doesn't usually address topics that are relevant to our situation here in Montgomery County Public Schools.

This morning he does. From the Washington Post:

An aggressively annoying new phrase in America's political lexicon is "values voters." It is used proudly by social conservatives, and carelessly by the media to denote such conservatives.

This phrase diminishes our understanding of politics. It also is arrogant on the part of social conservatives and insulting to everyone else because it implies that only social conservatives vote to advance their values and everyone else votes to . . . well, it is unclear what they supposedly think they are doing with their ballots. Who Isn't A 'Values Voter'?

He goes on to quote several news stories that use the phrase "values voter" as if groups like the Family Research Council and Jerry Falwell's gang are the only voters with values.

Now, I don't really agree with the way he puts this next comment, I think he's a little glib about "liberals," especially given the nonconservative (though certainly not liberal) policies of the present administration, but I agree with his conclusion. In fact, you can't make this point strongly enough.

Today's liberal agenda includes preservation, even expansion, of the welfare state in its current configuration in order to strengthen an egalitarian ethic of common provision. Liberals favor taxes and other measures to produce a more equal distribution of income. They may value equality indiscriminately, but they vote their values.

Whatever, I don't know about valuing "equality indiscriminately," that seems a little easy to say for all that it represents. Ah, he's a conservative, he's gotta talk that way, it doesn't hurt anything. But the point is made -- one little noisy minority of people has laid claim to the concept of "values." But people on the other side -- our side -- have values, too, we just don't use it as an advertising slogan.

As we have seen, over and over, people who claim to hold these "values" are being indicted for crimes -- this prositution/bribery thing could get pretty ugly, this current "values voter" administration and Congressional majority are the most corrupt band of jackals America has ever seen. it's easy to say you have "values," and very hard to live up to the statement.

Duke Cunningham appealed to the "values voter."

Jesus said, ""When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."

That's as clearly as this lesson can be stated.

We should be very suspicious of those who wear their faith as an article of clothing, like a uniform. Saying you have values doesn't make it so, and keeping your values private and personal doesn't mean you don't have any.