I just finished watching the lengthy funeral service of Senator Jesse Helms and listening to the many accolades and the eulogy. As in recent days, the commentaries recounted that he was a gentle and courteous man in person, a conscientious provider of constituent services, a strong family man, and a man of principle who was courageous in standing for his principles and beliefs.

In spite of my personal beliefs that clash with his, I accept those accolades without question. What I do question is, that in the words of the associate pastor at Hayes Barton Baptist “what is the measure of a man,” whether these good and honorable qualities balance against the wrongs that he did in the name of personal principle.

He stood on the principles of segregation, suppression of all minorities, unfettered greed by big business, and ridicule of people who were different from the majority. He relented in later years in providing funding for people in Africa suffering from AIDS, presumably because he thought they were not homosexuals. He recanted somewhat for his fight against any AIDS funding or research for many years, implying that those who died had only themselves to blame. I’m sure that Patsy Clarke and Eloise Vaughn would have a very different version of “constituent services,” as they related in their book Keep Singing.

Over the weekend a friend chastised me for my hostile comments about Jesse Helms and warned that I should not defame the dead or make judgment (even though thousands of others were doing so.) I accept that only God can make the final judgment and that we should temper our criticisms with charity.

But I must take my stand based upon my principle that those who pronounce love and charity but whose actions promote prejudice, bias, and hatred that may incite murder must be held responsible for the consequences of those actions even if promoting violence was not their intentions. I cannot condone quoting the Bible to promote racial hatred any more than it was done for generations to condone slavery as “the will of God.” The Bible is not a weapon to be used against those with whom we disagree. It is a guide of the mind of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and not in the guise of a political spinmeister.

Fifty people showed up for the funeral of my sister five years ago who was a loyal opponent of the policies, and particularly the mean-spirited politics, of Jesse Helms. She left a legacy of charity and goodwill, and her patients and students felt more than gratitude --- they were healed or helped to heal. She wasn’t famous or a U.S. Senator, but she never harmed anyone, and those who knew her loved her. It was obvious that his family loved Jesse Helms, which is not always the case with politicians (witness Ronald Reagan), but he also was hated and reviled because of his legislative stands that promoted division rather than harmony. He took pride is saying that he took no note of his critics, but perhaps he should have ---- at least in acknowledging that those of us who disagreed with him might also have principles.