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Show OPINIO·N l COKIE & STEVE ROBERTS COMMENTARY -- - · · -· ··· · ···-·· AND ONT"' SUBJ~C.T - SC\-\OOL PRAYER., WlL.LIM\ 'MLL LtAD U.6 INA MO~NT OF SILE~T REFLEC..TION ... Compromise is n ot a dirty word There is an age old adage in politics: Beware t he curse of answered prayers. That curse can be doubly powerful when the issue is prayer itself. The issue holds danger for both parties. As Gingrich is already learning, school prayer could become the Republicans' version of gays in the military, an emotional and time-consuming issue t hat distracts GOP leaders from the economic issues tha t voters really care a bout in their daily lives. In recent days, a chorus of Republican leaders have all given Newt t he same basic message: It's still the economy, stupid. Gingrich brought it up for his own reasons. He wants to pay off, and pay back, the religious right, which work ed ha rd an d effectively for GOP candidates. And he believes that Democrats can be painted int o a corner on moral issues, marginalized as "counter-culture McGovernicks" who think sex education is fine in school but prayer is not. In truth, Gingrich has a point. For a generation now, Democrats have allowed themselves to be depicted as an elitist party. That's why Clinton's mishandling of the prayer issue was so distressing. His staff, we are told, anticipated Gingrich's move and prepared several drafts of a proposed statue mandating a moment of silent reflection in public schools. The point was to short-circuit a constitutional amendment while avoiding, once again, a situation where the Democrats would come across as the an ti-God party. But Gingrich has problems of his own . It's one thing to portray the Dem ocrats as church-bashers and crirninal-coddlers. It's quite another for the Republicans to cloak them selves in robes of selfright eo u sness. T h a t ' s wha t h a ppe n e d at their Hou s to n conv ention in 1992, and the GOP pa id a heavy price. If D e mocrat s have suffered as the co un t e r-cul ture party, Republicans would also suffer as the Holy War party. If faith and fami ly are essential parts of the American tradi tion, so are tolerance and diversity. Which brings us back to school prayer. As a Catholic-Jewish couple, we are used to being in the religious minority, and we are highly sensitive to any effort to impose an official- and inevitably Protestant-prayer on school children. C. Roberts is a commentator for ABC's "World News Tonight." S. Roberts is a senior writer for U .S. News and World Report. THIS IS THE FINAL EDITION OF THE QUARTER-AND OF 1994. THE fOURNAL WILL RETURN ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4. HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY! 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PLEAS E RECYJLE THIS COPY. ., ~ I, VIEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Nov. 23 Statesman f ournal, Salem, Ore., on antiimmigrant sentiment: Americans need to settle back and take a deep breath, maybe count to ten before we catch anti-immigrant fever. California aimed its resentment about financial problems at the children of illegal immigrants by approving Proposition 187. Now Republicans and some Democrats want to cut off welfare and other social services to most legal immigrants. Only refugees and very elderly immigrants would remain eligible for 60 different health, education, job training, nutrition, housing, cash and social service programs . ... Unfortunately, immigration has become a political hot button. A politician can win votes, support and influence playing to the fears of the public and offering them m ore money in their own pockets by taking it away from the immigrants .... Are we Americans so callous that we would take from the lowest economic rung of our population just to give the rest of us a few m ore pennies? What we spend on the poorest of our cit izens would hardly pay for a stealth bomber. T h e proposal to penalize legal immigrants also includes tougher res trictions on welfare for other categories of Americans. The nation needs a debate abou t th e soundness of our immigration policies and about th e proper place for welfare in society. But the blatant fanning of anti-immigrant sentiment that we see em erging today solves no problems and is unworthy of a nation created by immigrants. Nov. 29 Milwaukee Sentinel on Jeffrey Dahm er: T here will be those who will now say that ju s tice h as fin a lly been done i n (Je ff rey) Dahmer's case. To die in prison was his inevitable end; to die vio l entl y and brutally will win him no mourners .... To say that D ahmer's crimes shocked the world would, of course, be an understatement. They si cke ne d an d th ey h orrifi ed; ... th ey el evated to a higher peak the concept t hat criminals m ust be a r a grea t e r burd e n o f resti tution for their deeds, particularly for crimes as heinous as Dah mer's. His acts were vile; his motiv es foul. He becam e the most hated, and most fascinating, man in America, both at the same time. This also showed how society itself has fallen to its own new depths of decay .... But now seems the time to put the Dahmer case to rest forevermore; to remember dearly the friends and relatives who perished .... And Dahmer will fade into the oblivion that awaits all who transgress so wickedly. Nov. 25 Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader on holiday spirit: Sure, the stores are too crowded. The musthave gifts are sold out. It's rush, rush, rush from one event to another. If there were some way to bottl e the good will that flows so freely during this time and pour it out during the cold of winter, the heat o f Au gus t or th e ill h umo r of an el ecti on season, this w orld wo uld be a much better place t o live in . We could all resolve to keep Christmas in our hearts year-round, but that would go the way of most resolutions. That's all right, for part of what makes this season so magical is it's the one time of the year when so many people exude generosity . The spirit multiplies. Even the less attractive parts of the season have their charms. For instance, people will rush to stores and subject themselves to co n ditions th at violate the Geneva Convention. It's tradi t ion. For a while, i t's even fun . ... Wh en t h e self-i mp ose d press ures and tensions get too great, there are so m any ways to rejuvenate ourselves, to recharge our spirits, to capture the glow of the holidays. And to prepare for the 11 months until we get to do this again. |