the littlest guy

Well, I can’t help it. I’m rather pulpitizing my blog of late, but there are things to say.

Perusing the online version of First Things this morning, I found a eulogy for Fr. Richard John Neuhaus by Robert P. George. The author describes Neuhaus, a once sought-after intellectual speaker and Lutheran pastor who became a Catholic priest, as someone whose political and moral convictions did not much change. His alliances did move, however, between the early 1970s and the 80s, from what was called liberal to conservative.

He wasn’t the only one to find the beliefs they espoused had taken on different distinctions during that time period. The article brings up these interesting notes:

It is important to remember that in those days it was not yet clear whether support for “abortion rights” would be a litmus test for standing as a “liberal.” After all, the early movement for abortion included many conservatives, such as James J. Kilpatrick, who viewed abortion not only as a solution for the private difficulties of a “girl in trouble,” but also as a way of dealing with the public problem of impoverished (and often unmarried) women giving birth to children who would increase welfare costs to taxpayers.

At the same time, more than a few notable liberals were outspokenly pro-life. In the early 1970s, Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, for example, replied to constituents’ inquiries about his position on abortion by saying that it was a form of “violence” incompatible with his vision of an America generous enough to care for and protect all its children, born and unborn. Some of the most eloquent and passionate pro-life speeches of the time were given by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. In condemning abortion, Jackson never failed to note that he himself was born to an unwed mother who would likely have been tempted to abort him had abortion been legal and easily available at the time.

I remember, young as I was, because my parents were politically active. From the school board to civil rights petitions and marches, they took note, they spoke up. My mom pondered the abortion issue. She cared about women and children. She wanted every child to be wanted. That’s the ideal, of course. Ultimately, though, Mom and Dad changed affiliation from Democrat to Republican, because they’d thought things through as fully as they could, and morally they decided unborn lives were indeed important.

Richard John Neuhaus remained a Democrat, according to the article. But he could no longer agree with his party. Once the progressive leaders went from fighting for “the little guy” to failing to protect “the littlest guy,” he committed himself to regaining what had been forfeit.