I have rarely been more delighted to write a post.
A few days ago, I wrote a long, pointed screed against New St. Andrews librarian Ed Iverson’s verdict that Moscow’s antiwar protesters were hypocrites for failing to protest in Friendship Square the Friday after Obama-led air strikes against Libya. I took Ed to task — severely — for what I believed to be his sinful judgment of people he didn’t know and motives he was unqualified to assess. A further problem was that, as I had thought, the protesters were there, as they’ve been every Friday since November, 2001. You can read my post about Ed’s original Right-Mind article below; I have no desire to go over it again, because I have something else to say about Ed, and even about Dale Courtney, Christ Church elder and Right-Mind blog proprietor.
They’ve both shown a much-appreciated measure of integrity, for which I’ve already personally thanked Ed and for which I am commending him, and Dale, here.
As you know, I believe that when a minister or other public representative of Christian faith says or writes something publicly, and those words are false, in error, or inflammatory, they ought to be called out publicly. But when I got confirmation that my own observations that Friday were correct — the anti-war liberals were there, protesting Obama’s actions in Libya after all — I left a phone message with Ed, encouraging him to acknowledge his error and apologize for it in the same forum in which his charges originally made. I assured him that I would, on my own forum here, continue to confront him if he didn’t. And then I prayed.
God is good, and Ed did the right thing. This man, with whom I have a multitude of disagreements over all manner of theology and politics, has never met me and likely isn’t eager to pencil me into his DayTimer anytime soon. On the other hand, Dale Courtney and I have had a long and rancorous history, and I wondered if Ed’s response to a rebuke by me would be of any interest to Dale. But Ed both acknowledged his error and apologized for his portrayal of local protesters in a Right-Mind post yesterday, and it’s only right that I publicly acknowledge here that he did the right thing. Ed Iverson did not demonstrate the righteousness that he did here because of me, but because the Holy Spirit touched his conscience. Dale dislikes me intensely, but in posting Ed’s apology, he showed clear integrity as well, for which he, too, deserves public commendation.
My disagreements with Dale, Ed, and the rest of the Kirk/NSA/Anselm House men will no doubt continue, very likely until Christ returns. I’ve been very critical of them in the past and I have little confidence that the reasons for my criticisms will disappear in a Spirit-blown wind that prevails in the turmoil of their thinking. Nonetheless, Ed and Dale did the right thing, and I sincerely, publicly, and as near-to-immediately-as-possible thank them.
While talking with Ed yesterday, I mentioned that I was elbow-deep in cake mix, a salmon marinade, and a Caribbean black bean soup in preparation for my husband’s birthday dinner last night. My son is home on his spring break from student teaching in Snohomish County, and I had a blessedly loud, wonderfully boisterous evening with my sons and Jeff. That, as well as a few re-writes to make sure my tone properly expresses my thankfulness for Ed’s and Dale’s correction, accounts for my relative tardiness in posting this. But here it is.
Thanks, Ed.