human rights abuses in the UnitedrnStates, a call that received support fromrnonly China, Cuba, and Sudan, whoserngovernments are not normally known forrninterest in civil liberty. Afterward, JoernAgue, then a racial justice officer withrnthe NCC and now a board member ofrnthe CDR, declared that white supremacyrnis “running wild” in America, whose atmospherernhe likened to Nazi Germanyrnright before the holocaust.rnAt the council’s June 10 press conferencernin Washington about the churchrnburnings, there was similar rhetoric.rn”You’re going to have a war that will notrnstop in rural areas,” Mac Jones warned,rnif the “church holocaust” is not stopped.rn”This country will explode.” The burningsrnare a “strategy to frighten and intimidaternblack Christians so that they willrnnot take up the call to arms when itrncomes very soon to have another civilrnrights and black revolution in this nation,”rnechoed Bishop John Hurt Adamsrnat the convention of the AfricanrnMethodist Episcopal Church in June.rnBishop Adams’ denomination calledrnfor a Worid Council of Churches investigationrnof the church arsons, which thernbishop blamed on the “promoters ofrnhate on the radio, the promoters of haternon television, the Contract [with] Americarnand its high-sounding phrases workingrnon lowdown agendas.” Sadly, neitherrnthe 1.5 million member AfricanrnMethodist Episcopal Church nor anyrnmajor component of the religious leftrnalliance touting the church arson storyrnhas seriously examined racism as a spiritual,rnrather than a political, affiliation.rnInstitutional racism in this countryrnhas been outlawed for most of 30 years.rnThe racial hatred that remains in Americarntoday exists well beyond the reach ofrnregulation and legislation. It festers deeprnwithin human hearts, and religiousrngroups are uniquely equipped to addressrnsuch corruption of the soul. But, instead,rnreligious leaders of the left are manipulatingrnisolated church burnings forrnpolitical purpose: to paint their ideologicalrnand theological opponents as racistrnsympathizers. Eor them, disgruntlementrnwith the welfare state is the moral equivalentrnof Klan night-riding. Meanwhile,rnthe Christian right has raised nary arncomplaint. We should expect and demandrnmore from our religious leaders.rnMark Tooley is a researcher for the Instituternon Religion and Democracy inrnWashington, DC.rnFAMILYrnMorticia of thernHomesteadrnby Isabel LymanrnEagle Forum, the national politicalrnorganization headed by PhyllisrnSehlafly, once selected me MassachusettsrnHomemaker of the Year. My husbandrnnominated me by filling out an applicationrnform. I was touched. Hubby, Irnassumed, wanted to highlight my attemptsrnto homemake, homestead, andrnhomeschool. Sort of. Wid was proud ofrnmy domestic endeavors, but he made merna contestant, in part, because he wantedrnto participate in the prize: an all-expensesrnpaid weekend at a posh Washington,rnD.C., hotel for each state’s winner.rnWhat a guy.rnWhen I actually became the honoree,rnand Eagle Eorum dispatched pressrnreleases to the local media of my impendingrncoronation, a reporter from thernSpringfield-Union News phoned. “I’drnlike to come to your home with a photographer,”rnhe said. The gleam in hisrnvoice gave it away: he thought he was goingrnto meet a Martha Stewart wannabe.rnI could visualize this reporter’s fantasy.rnHe’d encounter me sporting diamondrnstuds and spackling. After Irncleaned up, I’d offer him lunch: saucissonrnchaud with steamed kale, artisticallyrnarranged on pressed glass plates. Duringrna dessert of kiwi flamboyancy, served inrnmy perfectly fertilized rosebush garden,rnthe neighborhood’s beautiful peoplernwould join us for lattes.rn”Sure, come on over,” I said.rnWhen the newsie arrived, I was hospitable.rn”Do you drink instant coffee?”rnHe looked puzzled. I smiled as I explainedrnthat the bedrooms were in arnstate of disarray, because my two sons,rnwar history buffs, had reenacted the Batriernof the Bulge in them.rnHe looked chagrined.rn”Oh, and ignore the cranky old ladyrnhobbling around,” I helpfully added.rn”That’s just my mother-in-law. Shernslipped on sidewalk pavement in herrncheap shoes and is recuperating with us.”rnHe looked frightened. Give me somerncredit, though. At least I didn’t exposernhim to the more creative ways I keep thernhearth. I didn’t tell him how I’ve allowedrnmy son to dissect formaldehvdedrenchedrngrasshoppers near the kitchen.rnOr that I store plastic bags in the dishwasher.rnAnd that I dry hockey skates andrnfootball cleats by the woodstove in thernliving room when I’m not requesting myrnmother to Federal Express, from Florida,rnready-made tamales. He didn’t see thernkitschy Christmas card artwork that myrnhusband creates and displays, or the salepricernAfrican violets I decorate with, orrnmeet the pet pygmy goat that I’ve womanhandledrnin the backyard.rnSo, when the storv appeared in thernSunday paper, my house was describedrnin lackluster terms as “reasonably dustfreernand the colors more or less match,rnbut the place is still a bit too casual tornmake Tlouse Beautiful,'” when he couldrnhave written: “Paging Rosa Lopez.rnEmergency. Please come out of seclusion.rnThis casa need you, pronto.”rnI suppose, after experiencing that mediarnreality check, it would have beenrnproper to feel guilty about my offbeatrnhomemaking methods. It would havernbeen proper to evaluate if a mistake hadrnbeen made in giving the queen of laissezrnfaire homemaking a real title. It wouldrnhave been proper to reflect if it was ethicalrnof me to accept the perks of the prize.rnNah.rnSee, I may not do the homemakingrnthing like Martha Stewart, like an Amishrngoodwife, or even like my accomplishedrnmother. But I love being a very availablernmother and wife, and, yes, homemaker,rneven though the workload is often dreary.rnAnd repetitive. And unappreciated.rnOn those bad house days, I shame myselfrnwith truth and remind myself of thernsheer luxury of my lot. Our wodd, afterrnall, is teeming with women who keeprnhouse in hovels and slums and frequentlyrngive birth to babes in such squalor.rnIt’s a shame the American cognoscentirnkeeps telling our young women to actrnfor the Oscar, train for the Gold, writernfor the Pulitzer. Do something with yourrnlife, but DON’T JUST STAY HOME.rnUgh. The enterprising woman whorncan be homeward bound, thanks to arnhardworking husband, can still make historyrn(or is that herstory?). The belovedrncolumnist Erma Bombeek, not BettyrnFriedan, beautifully modeled that lesson,rnfor a past generation of bored, suburbanrnhousewives.rnA true confession. In the 14 years thatrnI’ve stayed at home and baked cookies, IrnOCTOBER 1996/45rnrnrn