Moore on Civil Society

Stephen Moore’s Feb. 19 commentary, “Civil Society Is Making Comeback in America,” was quite amazing. He points out various positive things that have been happening in America, i.e., less drug use, a dropping divorce rate, less teen sexual activity, a falling crime rate, etc. And to what does he attribute them? The conservative message, whatever that is.

Does Bill Clinton, who has been president for six years, get no credit for this? And isn’t it interesting that the large majority of this newly moral people in this “cultural comeback” support Clinton and were opposed to impeachment? And that the moralistic, hypocritical House managers are at an all-time low in popularity?

ANN EDELMAN

Los Angeles

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Moore makes the automatic assumption that the growth of reli- gion and increased sales of the Bible are integral components of the effort to recover from what he perceives as the social decay of the 1960s and 1970s. Without much thought, Moore disenfranchises millions of nonreligious people from the journey toward morality.

Why should belief in a book mandating the execution of gay lovers and the subordination of women be considered a self-evident sign of nobility? What about those of us who subject all claims of the supernatural, including those upon which Bible-based religions are grounded, to critical scrutiny? Nobility of character, I think, is evidenced by the courage to invoke intellectually honest inquiry, even if it means going against the overwhelming tide of popular sentiment.

EDWARD TABASH

Beverly Hills