Shame on Mary Schmich for being a Jesse Jackson apologist (“Jackson’s image may be dimmed, but message isn’t,” Metro, Jan. 21). In her column she writes that “right values exist independent of the people who espouse them.” Quite true, but where I come from there is a word for what she trumpets: It’s called “hypocrisy.”
Rev. Jackson should not be demonized. Just the same, however, for a man who preaches to others, he should lead by example.
To write, as Schmich does, that “the minister is separate from the message” is much like parents saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It was a message that, rightly, rang hollow as children; yet as adults we embrace it.
Using ethical gymnastics to dismiss, if not excuse, Jackson’s philandering, Schmich does a disservice by further lowering our societal standards. If we continue to serve as apologists for bad behavior, pretty soon “right values” will, unfortunately, only exist independent of the people who espouse them, as Schmich puts it.
