The two senators lauded in “Morals guide lists ways to `save’ nation” (Main news, May 28), in addition to serving on the Council on Civil Society, also are co-chairmen of our Center for Jewish and Christian Values in Washington. That should come as no surprise. Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), a Republican, and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), a Democrat, are indeed exceptional individuals whose heightened sense of morality is worthy of lionizing.
As the findings of the council declare, religions institutions should reassert themselves into American life. These two senators have done just that. Their ethical public policy posture, in fact, stems from their distinctly religious sensibilities, not just political motivations. Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, and Coats, a born-again Evangelical Christian, are congressional treasures–true American heroes. They are model public servants precisely because they so effectively express, not deny their religious convictions in the public square.
More important, they do so in a manner that is tolerant and respectful of divergent viewpoints and act in a civil manner toward individuals with whom they disagree. This demeanor should not be seen as the suspension of religious values but their greatest manifestation. It is the affirmation of Coats’ and Lieberman’s faith in the public square that shapes their morality, not faith’s denial.
