Hey, guys; conservative columnist Andrew Sullivan posted this letter from a liberal reader on his website. It was in response to a comment he'd made that conservatives' anger ran "deeper" than liberals lately. It's actually quite a nice letter, and I think sums up a lot of what seems to be going through a lot of people's heads, conservative and liberal alike. And reminds me that first and foremost, we're all Americans and want what's best for our beloved nation.
I myself have watched Sullivan go from cheerleader to angry opponent of the Bush regime over the past few years, and I feel for him. He's a genuine conservative, and this has been hard for him. He writes a good blog, too: andrewsullivan.com. Anyway, here's the letter:
<<Why do you think the anger of the left - the decent left - is any less than yours? Do you think we feel less betrayed? Wrong. Do you think we are less betrayed? Wrong.
Do I blame you for being mad? Not a bit. But keep in mind that those of us on the left who saw this (the Iraq WMD deception) coming - and saw a hundred other issues coming, from abrogation of the wall between church and state to the ballooning deficit - we have spent the last five years being called every ugly, vicious name in the book because we tried to stop this, because we tried to warn the American people: haters, traitors, pussies, weenies, liars, partisans, hacks, wacks, radicals, commies, atheists, morally confused, mentally challenged and anything, anything except patriots who love this country and everything it stands for - or ought to stand for. Even the name "liberal", that honorable word, has been made into a curse. So don't tell me the anger of the betrayed and decent right and center is deeper. Just tell us thanks for keeping the faith, for fighting the good fight. Just for once, call us brothers and sisters.
And remember: don't get mad. Get even. Keep speaking out. When you explain how you see classic conservatism as the defense of liberty from brutality through doubt, caution, common sense and rigorous self-examination, when you show how our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution are classic small-c conservative documents, you build a ground for dialog between left and right and a way out of this mess.
I do not agree with all your views on particular policies - but that's not necessary, because I respect and trust your good intentions and good faith, your essential humility and humanity - and I've seen you grow and change over the years, often, as now, with considerable pain. That's to be respected, and it's why I advise all liberals to give "The Conservative Soul" (Sullivan's latest book) a read; it's well worth it. In any case, we agree on the bedrock issues, which utterly transcend left and right. We can agree to disagree on particular policies here and there - and get on with it. The challenges we face in the coming years - from global warming to nuclear proliferation to economic instability - will require us to meet on common ground.>>
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