Doing It Right (at least partly)

Have you heard of Bob Riley, governor of Alabama? If you haven’t, and you’re not entirely happy with the attitude of the Religious Right (or the Moral Majority, or whatever they’re called today), look him up. I may not completely agree with his stance on every issue, but he’s showing a great deal of “progressive” Christian concern for social justice in his state. What’s truly amazing is that despite his stances on abortion and adoption rights for gay couples, he is well respected by progressives because the same principles that guide his decisions on “moral” matters guide him on matters of social justice. Interestingly, the Christian Coalition of Alabama has opposed many of Riley’s initiatives (including a proposal to remove racist language from the state constitution and relieving the tax burden on the state’s poor). How ironic — progressives support an anti-abortion, Republican governor for his work in social justice, while Christians fight against him.