Most of the media will ignore this Zogby poll, since it gets in the way of the story being painted of the government’s efforts to save Terri Schiavo’s life as a right wing vendetta. And polls by ABC and Time sure seem to have been written to obtain a desired result.
The Zogby poll isn’t perfect either. To get a truly accurate picture, it should have mentioned the feeding tube more explicitly and the profound nature of Terri’s cognitive disability. But I think it more accurately depicts the mixed attitudes of the American people on this issue than the other polls being relied upon to support the conventional media wisdom.
Even more than polls, however, remains the relative quiescence of the Democrat Party on this matter. If politicos were convinced this were a winning issue against Republicans, there would be no end of speechifying. But there were reasons that most Democrats in the Congress voted for the federal law. First, many believed it was the right thing to do, e.g., Sens. Joe Lieberman, Tom Harkin, etc. Second, the grass roots drove the matter in a truly democratic fashion.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
