‘We Are the Righteous’

Re George F. Will’s column (Editorial Pages, April 13), “We Are the Righteous, We Are . . .”:

In an unprecedented week, which witnessed the U.S. Congress’ communal act of cowardice in the lessening of gun controls, despite 20,000 American handgun casualties last year, the U.S. government’s breaking of the world’s eight-month moratorium on nuclear testing, and the rattling of aircraft carriers off the coast of Libya, George Will chose to lampoon the intentions of 6 million Americans to provide for the hungry and homeless.

Not content with sophomoric similes, Will denounces “Hands Across America, Live Aid and Farm Aid,” derogatorily as “rightmindedness,” which one would suppose, suggests that Will would prefer “wrongmindedness” as this nation’s moral stance.

Continuing, the humanist efforts of Soviet schoolgirl Katya Lycheva and the late Samantha Smith are dismissed by Will as “child-mongering.”

Undaunted, Will impugns the motives, if not the integrity of Paul Newman and Barbara Streisand for lending their names to the peace effort; paid organization staffs and the fact that participants are willing to pay to help the cause.

Lest we forget, this is the same syndicated columnist who secretly wrote speeches for his own favorite conservative candidate and cause while appearing on television as a supposedly impartial newsman talking about this self-same candidate and cause, and whom I have yet to see make fun of $1,000-a-plate dinners for Ronald Reagan/George Bush et al.

Perhaps the most telling phrase chosen by Will for this particular column was when he wrote: “Fortunately . . . the great peace march has petered out. . . .”

Actually, it’s a good thing that Will probably won’t ante up $10. (more if he wants the T-shirt), to join us on May 25. It’s doubtful that anyone would want to reach out and take his hand. It might be catching!

RAY REESE

North Hollywood