The Vital ABCs

(By Jay Nordlinger, National Review Online) - Years ago, I found myself uttering a line: I can’t stand to be lectured on compassion by the party of abortion-on-demand. I think it was back in 1984, when Mario Cuomo was riding high. He gave a much-ballyhooed speech at the Democratic convention, in which he chastised Republicans and conservatives for being ogres, basically — for hating the poor, the sick, the halt, the lame, etc. He set himself up as a great moral instructor and exemplar. And so did his entire party, really.

And my reaction was, “Give me a break. For one thing, it’s hard to take lessons on compassion from the party of abortion-on-demand. Get that one right — or do better on it — and maybe then you’ll be fit to speak to the rest of us.”

And I am reminded more broadly why I became a Republican, those moons ago. I was taught that the Republican party stood for greed, for dog-eat-dog, for ignorance, for callousness. And I was taught that human decency demanded that you be a socialist, basically. But then I grew up, and learned what a free economy did for people, as opposed to socialism (or collectivism, or statism, or a social-welfare state). I saw results as life was really lived in the world.