HAROLD KELLER / L’Observateur / March 4, 2000

The word “right” is not a negative word. We tell our children to always do theright thing. In life, we make many decisions – right and wrong. A right decisionis a plus and a wrong decision causes discomfort and regrets.

When people say that they are all right, they suggest that things are OK.

When you take a trip, you can either take the right road, which will take you to your destination, or the wrong road, which will get you lost.

The definition of the word “right” is straight, not crooked, upright, conformed to justice. Come to think of it, there is not much wrong with theword “right.”Is right ever used in a derogatory way? For the past few months, with the presidential primaries, the word right has been in the headlines many times and the majority of the time, it’s used in a very degrading way. Manypoliticians and many of the press consider the Religious Right a threat to our democratic system.

On the other hand, it’s OK for the unions, the NAACP, the NEA, and others to be involved. The liberal press very seldom, if ever, criticizes these groups.Why? Because they are always supporting liberal left or, in some cases, soft moderates.

Last week, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a war hero and a presidentialcandidate on the Republican side, blasted Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell of the Religious Right, calling them an evil influence. His attack on the Christianright makes me wonder where he is, spiritually. He also has tried to labelGeorge W. Bush, another Republican candidate for president, as a Catholic-basher for speakaing at the Bob Jones University in South Carolina. I agreewith Bush and the third Republican candidate in the primary, Allen Keyes, (maybe the best of the candidates), who said that McCain was off-base and wrong (not right) to attempt to pit one religion against another.

I personally think that Gov. Bush should thank Sen. McCain for his attacks.When the campaign started, Bush was trying to move to the middle. (His dad,the former president, did and lost.) McCain pushed him back to the right.Maybe Mr. Bush should take the example of former president Ronald Reagan.He never did apologize for being associated with the Christian right and he won twice, convincingly, and may go down in history as one of the greatest presidents.

In the Bible, when the word right, or righteousness, is used, it’s never in a negative way. An example of this can be found in Matt. 25.32-33: “All thenations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats. And He will set thesheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.”I thank God that I have been labeled as a member of the Religious Right. Whata privilege to be on the right side for a change.

I close with this from I Peter 3:12: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

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