E-mail

HOME

Women at risk from liberal elites Convention finds evangelical right in mainstream PHILADELPHIA - It was a leaden rainy evening in Portland, Ore., the night religious conservatives lost the 1998 mid-term elections. No one I was with actually wept, but there was a great deal of manly shoulder squaring and surreptitious throat clearing. The Republican candidates, once thrilled to see Christian leaders at their rallies, glowered and couldn't retreat to their hotel rooms fast enough. The only people relentlessly, grimly upbeat were the middle- aged suburban ladies who, under their various umbrella groups, masterminded the Right to Life campaign. They had lost before, in fact, it seemed, they always lost. They knew the ropes of loss better than anyone and they knew that one day they would win. They had faith. My Taiwanese photographer had complained for days that being prayed over and loved so effusively disturbed him. He had been given a Bible with a leather cover, lovingly inscribed, hands had been laid on him, he and his Nikon had tiptoed barefoot through the choir and around the baptismal font, and everyone was (creepily so, he thought) glad to see him and eager to prove they were not racist. His relief election night was visible. Almost equally relieved were the pundits, left and right. But nothing had a patch on the relief of local country-club Republicans. No one, not even their putative allies, wanted Christians to gain political power on the back of sexual scandal. The consequences were beyond imagining, somewhat like all your great aunts having the power to enforce every single one of their mystifying and painful rules, designed specifically to spoil one's fun. One hundred million religious conservatives united around one purpose -- enough to make even the most phlegmatic provincial banker paranoid. Better to let the man with 666 tattooed on his forehead have his way with White House staff. After this rout, the religious right was seen to be in full retreat. former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was caught in his own sex scandal, as were other Beltway movement leaders. The impeachment flopped, and Bill Clinton, grinning and forgiving everyone in sight, just like a real Christian, was still in power. The alliance of the various faiths splintered. Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition, under investigation from the Internal Revenue Service, lost force. Membership dropped, seats at the 1999 Road to Victory lay empty and revenues dwindled. George W. Bush, while insisting his acceptance of Christ had changed his life, was hardly dancing to Onward Christian Soldiers. The Bush juggernaut had far too many other powerful constituencies. Was the influence of born agains waning? Were Christians crawling back into their parallel universe, happy to nest in their own schools and colleges, their own bookstores, their own charities, and their own businesses? To the contrary, said James Reichley of the Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University, recently. "The role of the less partisan and more moderate National Association of Evangelicals seems actually to have increased," he added. A 2000 poll of 475 leaders of evangelical denominations, ministries and churches reveals the current state of mind: Only 9% said the movement should withdraw from politics. The remaining 91% recommended either "staying focused on politics" or "combining politics with other efforts at changing society." One of the more significant findings was an increasing acceptance of what Biblical scholars describe as the "cultural commission." Protestant evangelical leaders, once seen as seeking only to save souls, by a majority now wanted to save institutions such as schools, government and entertainment. And this represented a substantial increase in the will to public participation. Mr. Reichley, a Presbyterian layman, further believes that as evangelicals become more pragmatic, "they increase the possibility that a broad Republican coalition, in which they play a significant part, may win enduring political success." Now generally speaking, at least in the circles I move in, this "cultural commission" is seen as anti-woman, having mostly to do with the restriction of abortion. Once this fact is established, the conversation can go no further. It's out of the question to even revisit the debate. If men bore children, abortion would be a sacrament. This cultural commission is a move by paleolithic males to get women back into the kitchen and out of the public arena, so they can have their jobs, money and power back. End of discussion. It is almost impossible to persuade the average member of an elite -- male or female, financial, cultural, political or bureaucratic -- to put themselves into the shoes of an ordinary woman, a wife and mother, perhaps undereducated, who has absolutely no access to political or cultural power. The over-sexualized and violent marketplace, the threat to the covenant of marriage from every corner, easy access to drugs, porn on the Internet, the perennial fear of crime -- everywhere she looks, she and her children are at risk. Such a woman looks back to her mother's generation of women, and knows that once, a woman like herself was protected, had value. Now she is the last considered. It is her emotions that fuel the power of the Evangelical Right, and until the liberal elites realize that liberal policies have damaged the family, and liberal attitudes have left ordinary women terrified and alone, it is she whose passion is strong enough to determine the shape of our future. Besides, who said "the meek shall inherit the earth"?

© 2004 Elizabeth Nickson The material at this website is available only for personal non-commercial purposes, and it may not be reproduced without permission.