With Great Patience And Careful Instruction

Mario Cuomo:

[T]he president should start by following the successful pattern established in other areas of dealing with the clash of religious and political questions, including the law concerning abortion. The right of true believers to live by their own religious beliefs will be guaranteed: no one will be compelled to use stem cell research or its products, just as no one will ever be compelled to have an abortion. And the nation will respect the right of believers to advocate for changes in our civil law that correspond with their own view of morality.

But our pluralistic political system adopts rights that arise out of consensus, not the dictates of religious orthodoxy; and if such rights are adopted - approving abortions or financing stem cell research on leftover embryos - they will be the law of the land, even if religious dissenters, through their tax dollars, end up helping to pay for things that they find anathema. Every day Americans who abhor the death penalty, contraceptives, abortions and war are required to pay taxes used in part for purposes they consider offensive. That is part of the price we pay for this uniquely successful democracy.

During the Clinton era I had so hoped Mario would get a SCOTUS appointment.  He's a passionate and brilliant man with a great understanding of the purpose of government and law.  Here he says exactly what many of us in the blogosphere have said in many ways--it's nice to see it so eloquently put by somebody whose voice will be heard by a wider audience.

ntodd