SPEAKING OF WORK: According to the Harris Interactive poll, Americans on average forfeited three vacation days in 2003, up nearly 50 percent from the previous year. Americans already receive far fewer vacation days compared to people in Canada, Australia and European countries (the wag e-newsletter; August 4).

"The conventional liberal political wisdom that people who are conservative on abortion are conservative on everything else is just wrong. Christians who are economic populists, peacemaking internationalists, and committed feminists can also be 'pro-life.' The roots of this conviction are deeply biblical and, for many, consistent with a commitment to nonviolence as a gospel way of life."

--Jim Wallis, arguing that the Democratic Party should welcome pro-life support (Sojourners, June)

"My right to speak my mind, to have a voice, to be what some have called 'opinionated,' is a right I deeply and profoundly cherish. My only hope is that, one day soon, women--who have all earned the right to their opinions--instead of being labeled opinionated, will be called smart or well-informed, just as men are."

--Teresa Heinz Kerry, in a July 27 speech at the Democratic National Convention

"A leader listens, just as there is a difference between indecision and flexibility, there is a difference between rigidity and commitment. True leadership consists, first, in responsiveness to the unarticulated longings of the people, and second, in the articulation of those longings in the real-world structures of politics."

--James Carroll, commenting on the presidential campaign (Boston Globe, July 30)

COPYRIGHT 2004 The Christian Century Foundation
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