The article “Living in a Closet” by Mr. X, a Republican who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, was originally published in The New York Sun on September 8, 2004, and is posted at http://www.nysun.com/article/1403 Letters follow:

Recovering Liberal

I’m a recovering liberal, now a Republican, living in a closet in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Most of my friends are gay and/or liberal. I enjoy their friendships, but I’ve learned not to talk politics, and especially not to mention the “Bushies.” Most of them are Kool-Aid drinkers with the New York Times and National Public Radio as their only source of news.

Two years ago, at a small dinner party, our host summarily said that President Bush planned the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. I almost lost my cover and quickly defended Mr. Bush and pointed out the absurdities of our host’s statement. Fortunately, he was working on his second bottle of Merlot, so my cover remained safe. This is just one of many daily attacks.

Now, with Michael Moore’s propaganda “Fahrenheit 9/11″film,there’s more absurd ammo against Mr. Bush, notwithstanding that the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States and Richard Clark discredited most of the film. So here I remain in “Berkeley East” wearing my chinked brown shoes in this liberal tuxedo world.

ALONE IN PARK SLOPE

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Hardy Soul

Please pass on my high regards to and for the author. The country is full of similar hardy souls. As his Upper West Side “friends” will find out come November 3.My only wish is that he publish his article under his full name.

Be honest. Be direct. Be proud. And always be informed by facts to back up his arguments defending his positions and pointing out their shortcomings. It is what they hate the most – after their blind Bush hatred – and what they are least prepared themselves to do. The truth will set him – and eventually, them – free.

ROBERT H. EDDY, ESQ.
Cleveland, Ohio

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Don’ t Give Up

You may want to consider your child’s future before you give up so easily. Please don’t be cowardly. I live too close to Madison for comfort, but I say what I think.

NITA LARSON
Belleville, Wis.

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We Are Heretics To Them

Beginning with the apt title, Mr. X’s op-ed piece is a welcome description of what many of us in New York experience. The closed lockstep thinking of many anti-Bush people here and the resulting lurch from one excess to another beg for more attention than they have received.

One aspect of all this is a narrowly focused obsession with evil. “We are surrounded by deceit,” begins one text-laden left-wing bumper sticker I have seen.” Paul Wolfowitz is evil “was a conversation (but not rant) ender directed at me at one dinner. Comparisons of the president with Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden are increasingly common and unchallenged.

I have my own theories, but Joseph A. Schumpeter, the economist and sociologist, had a handle on this. Of Marxists and true believers, in general, he wrote, “…the opponent is not merely in error but in sin….There cannot be any excuse for [dissent] once the Message has been revealed.”

So there it is. We function as heretics to them. Primed as they are by paranoia – “Never assume” says another bumper sticker – is the behavior toward Mr. X at Manhattan dinner parties any surprise?

JOSEPH MCCLOSKEY
Brooklyn

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Fundamentalist Liberals

Thank you for printing “Living in a Closet” by Mr. X. I have dealt with similar situations of my own – I frequent the Upper West Side – and I sympathize with Mr. X. At the same time, I feel frustration toward the double standard for us conservatives or Republicans in a place where “liberalism” is like a fundamentalist’s religion.

I recall a lecture by Allan Bloom in my old liberal arts college in Wisconsin. Bloom stated the true “liberalism” or “multiculturalism” meant to accept different opinions and cultures yet, liberal arts education failed to accept of the differences (ex. African rituals) and moreover, tried to convert people of different views to their “humane” or “liberal” ideals – like try to convince Africans not to participate in their rituals because they are inhumane.

The same thing can be said for those people on the Upper West Side. They are like missionaries that knock on your door on Sundays. The “liberals” or “Zabar’s Left” people have no tolerance to opposite opinions. They cannot argue intellectually and get so emotional and shout and spray at your dishes during lunch meetings. They deduce President Bush as simply “Bush is an idiot” and are incapable of arguing intellectually.

I get so offended by hostile Kerry-supporting youths on the streets in the city: “Hi, do you want to help beat Bush?” Is that the only motivation for voting for Senator Kerry? During the GOP convention, I wanted to wear a Republican T-shirt with the elephant in the city, but I decided not to because I was afraid that I would be stoned to death by protesters and Kerry people. It is not fair that only protesters get to wear their offensive T-shirts to express their opinions in the city and I have to be so afraid of expressing how I feel about politics. Maybe in Staten Island I am very safe wearing a Republican T-shirt.

HANAKO H. PITERA
Jersey City, N.J.

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Meet Ms. Y

You wrote “Mr. X”? Well, I, Ms. Y., would like to meet you. As an Upper West Side neighbor who enjoys Riverside Park, Fairway, dinners, Broadway strolls, and other West Side pleasures, I, too, have earned pariah status because of my pro-Bush administration sentiments.

Recently, an old friend commented that Bush is worse than Hitler. My husband pressed him for evidence, and he responded, “Bush will kill more people than Hitler.” How could we in our right minds support a pending mass murderer? My husband and I have honed our arguments to force illogical conclusions and ad hominem attacks to the fore, in the hope that we may open a crack in the armor of liberal self-righteousness. We plan our discussions and are very careful to ease off if a friend starts to scream and exhibit other signs of liberal sententiousness. We are tolerant and patient.

It’s not easy. I just want you to know that you have two other allies on the Upper West Side. It’s kind of liberating. It’s also lonely. But as you have commented, there’s a big country out there, and the Upper West Side has more people out there like you and I than you may realize.

Ms. Y, aka ELLIE SCHAFFER
Manhattan

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Outbursts From Friends

Please inform Mr. X that all of us who support President Bush have experienced similar outbursts from either friends or family members. At the present moment, my sister is not talking to me because of my views. Luckily, my young adult children agree with my husband and myself, and they will vote Republican this November.

During one of her tirades against Mr. Bush, my sister clearly stated that it is I who have changed my political bent and not she. So-called liberals really do not know why they want Senator Kerry to win and neither do I. He does not stand for anything, including support for Israel. The liberals are just anti-Bush and they grasp at anything.

I am old enough to remember that when Vietnam veterans returned from the war, these same individuals who want Mr. Kerry because he was “a true patriot” spit at and vilified those soldiers who gave up years of their lives so that we could enjoy ours. I remember the same liberal Hollywood group going to Vietnam – not to support our troops but to support the others. I am still not ‘fond-a Jane and will never forget her betrayal.

Finally, take heart, Mr. X. Mr. Bush will win in November and these ageing hippies will go on to another cause. I believe that mainstream America supports Mr. Bush and will come out to vote for him. Mr. Kerry will go the way of all politicians who had really nothing to offer anyone.

ETHEL SCHER
Bronx

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Gay Republican

“Living in a Closet,” struck a chord with me. My own situation and views are essentially the same as yours. I have the disadvantage of being gay and working for a major book publisher, both of which are supposed to make me a card-carrying lefty. So as you can obviously imagine, I am looked upon as even more of a pariah than you probably are. Nice to know there are at least two of us.

SCOTT X.

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In Complete Sympathy

I just read your essay, and you have my complete sympathy as to your hostile environment – and my respect for your excellent judgment in selecting our national leader. I’m sure there are many of us who can identify with your predicament. It’s hard for me to make mental excuses for my friends and relatives’ seeming blindness to our country’s situation.

In my fervent opinion, there is so much at stake in this election that I cannot easily accept the ignorant lack of sensibility of these lockstep Kerry supporters. It’s difficult for me to simply “put it aside” and go on with associations as if I were dealing with rational folks. Sigh. Engaging some people in reasonable exchange is nearly impossible.

I’m simply writing to you to say that I am in total agreement with you, and if you can figure out a way to retain respect for these folks – your friends and neighbors – please let me know.

SUSAN H. SMITH
St. Louis, Mo.

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Simply Put

Mr. X, you are a great writer.

SONIA DIXON

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Not Completely Alone

You may be almost alone on the Upper West Side, but are not completely alone. I am an Upper West Side pro-Bush conservative and have experienced some of what you have, but not quite as acutely. Like you, I have had conversations that end with dismissive, derisive comments about President Bush: how dumb he is, or what a polluter he is, or how Iraq had nothing to do with the September 11 terrorist attacks, bla, bla, bla. I have seen the same little old lady, scooting around receiving warm greetings from passersby.

I like Mr. Bush too. I plan to vote for him, and I don’t care who knows it. But I have learned to avoid discussing politics with my neighbors. It’s too stressful and energy-draining. I sense the deep unity of collective opinion around me. I still like it here as well. But as for some of my neighbors, I feel sorry for them.

TERRY TANNEHILL
Manhattan

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Republican Professor

I am a professor at Brown University and a committed classical liberal. This makes me, I suppose, an unusual bird. It also makes me a bird-of-a-feather with Mr. X., who describes his furtive life as a committed Republican living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

In telling his story, Mr. X also tells my story at Brown. Occasionally, my sense of isolation has been crystallized dramatically. For example, a pollster working for David Horowitz once called my office to say he was gathering data on political affiliations of faculty at Brown, that his research had turned up only three registered Republicans on the entire Brown faculty.

Concerned that his research must be flawed, he was calling to ask if I knew of any Republicans beyond the other two – I knew of none at all. But mostly what’s familiar to me about Mr. X’s story is just the wearing texture of daily life here: the bright, well-intentioned students sitting in my classes with their “Redefeat Bush!” buttons worn as comfortably as their Abercrombie shirts; the politically loaded asides inserted into otherwise scholarly papers; the posters splashed across campus heralding next week’s left-wing celebrity speaker – the hot ticket this week is Howard Dean.

But while Mr. X and I are birds-of-a-feather, I have recently begun flying in a new pattern – and my life is now better and less lonely every day. Last year, I decided to confront my apparent isolation, and to test whether its depth was apparent or real. I started a small research center at Brown to encourage the study of liberty and of market solutions to social problems.

By daring at last to raise a banner, I have in the past year met a fascinating group of individuals who share my outlook and experience – faculty at other universities; Brown alums who support free and open inquiry; and, most dramatically, a large and ever more vocal cohort of students who are tired of the moral status quo at Brown.

I do not know exactly what action Mr. X should take that might serve as the palliative analog of my fledgling center at Brown. The beast lurking on the Upper West Side is larger and more diffuse than the beast I am now openly fighting here. But I do urge Mr. X to consider that if he does find some way to raise a flag of his own, he may discover greater allies around him than he expects. Even if not, of one thing I am sure: A closet is no place for a bird. The sky is ours – if only we dare.

JOHN TOMASI
Associate Professor of Political Science
Director, The Political Theory Project
Department of Political Science
Brown University
Providence, R.I.

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Reagan Lives Here

I have read Mr. X’s description of his dilemma in “Living in a Closet” and have to conclude that my similar circumstances – living in the Midwood section of Brooklyn – have taken a far different response. When I first moved here from Eastchester, N.Y., in 1998, Charles Schumer, then the local representative to the House, maintained an office on Kings Highway. And my immediate reaction was, “Oh, no. I’ve moved to the liberal jungle.”

Well, since God gave me a very large mouth, I keep using it, virtually and actually. I recall placing a copy of the Declaration of Independence, on July 4th of that same year or the next, on my building’s front entrance – whereupon it was subsequently taken down.

I have numerous times turned the New York Times front page upside down at local newsstands when I have found its headlines particularly offensive, as well as the Daily News – once when it offensively affected Mayor Giuliani.

My apartment door contains a photograph of the late, great Ronald Reagan, an American flag, and a “W ’04” sticker, since I do not own an automobile. And, I wear my Sean Hannity T-shirt on the avenue, celebrating this great nation. Believe me, Mr. X, were I in attendance at the 92nd Street Y, when Tony Kushner made reference to our president resembling Adolf Hitler, that audience would have heard me loudly and clearly. And if I had some rotten eggs with me, I would have thrown them at that degenerate ingrate, as well.

I am not in a position to attend any parties, but were I to be present at one where someone offended my president or my country – my big mouth would open wide. In sum, I am not proud of Mr. X’s behavior. He is obviously in a position of influence. He should stand up for what he believes, that is, if he really believes what he claims.

NANCY JOYCE JANCOURTZ
Brooklyn

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Upper West Side Attitude

Mr. X has done a service to all Republicans with his expose, if you will, on what it is like living the Republican lifestyle in an area like the Upper West Side. His stories we can all relate to; the intolerance and hatred they have of those with a different point of view. At the recent Republican National Convention, a protester held up a sign at a North Carolina delegate breakfast: “It’s not just Bush. We hate all of you!”

Whether or not the sign-holder was an Upper Westsider, that is a very Upper West Side attitude. Mr. X mentions the progressive school that his children attend; probably no more progressive than the school I went to in 1960 near Central Park West. Not one of the upper classmen wanted Richard Nixon, so a John Kennedy supporter was asked to debate the Nixon side.

But, alas, we must ask Mr. X: Why are you Mr. X? Don’t hide your identity. Rejoice in your choice to stand apart from the masses. You are not alone. Your friends who no longer invite you to parties, your acquaintances who walk away from you in mid-sentence – well, say goodbye to them and know that even though we are certainly outnumbered, we are out there for you. We’re here, we’re not queer – except our Log Cabin Republican friends – we’re Republicans. So live with it.

I am a white, Jewish, Upper Westsider, and a proud Republican. I wonder, though, what my great-uncle, Gus Edwards, would think if he were around today? He composed the Democratic campaign song, “Tammany!”

EVAN EDWARDS
Manhattan

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No Heresies Allowed

Mr. X claims that Upper Westsiders become overwrought on the topic of President Bush. Mr. X is wise to hide his identity. We will brook no heresies here on West End Avenue.

I am an Upper Westsider who once believed that our country was threatened by terrorists whom I could only perceive as the embodiment of evil. Forgive me, but I was not alone, even on the Upper West Side, where, in the days following the September 11 terrorist attacks, American flags festooned the facades of buildings the length of West End. I also believed in those days that Iraq was a threat to world safety and peace; that Al Qaeda would embrace any atrocity, and that the Taliban were an affront to decency.

Because it is impossible to comprehend the logic of terrorism – that killing innocents advances the agenda of the deity – I was confused, muddled, and angry. Now, however, because of the wisdom and patience of my fellow Westsiders, I have attained an enlightenment which seems to have eluded Mr. X.The message is this:

Mr. X must abandon his vain and presumptuous attempts to make sense of current events by himself. He must submit to the scripture of Noam Chomsky and Susan Sontag, whose information and understanding outstrip those of common citizens. He must accept the fact that terrorism is something we have brought upon ourselves with our insensitive prosperity and our overactive antipathy for the cleansing virtues of violent repression.

He must therefore come to understand that Republicans are simply evil people; tolerance for their views is not evidence of an open mind; rather, it is evidence of complicity in a baffling conspiracy to enslave mankind for the benefit of Big Oil and the clandestine globalist regime. Did not Senator Kerry point this out when he said of gasoline: “These are not Exxon prices, these are Halliburton prices”? If this statement seems nonsensical to you, you need further instruction from your local imam.

Mr. X, we must not hew to views that differ from the orthodox, as this promotes unrest and dissension. Further, we must evidence our moral superiority to those who disagree with us by acts of social hostility and prompt repression, lest incorrect thinking take root and flourish. To tolerate the expression of heresy – once quaintly regarded as “keeping an open mind” – is to become anathema.

Shout down all dissenters. Shun the unenlightened. Isolate the infidels. And most importantly, dare not maintain ideas or conduct inquiries that question the wisdom and teachings of the orthodox elite. It is best for the common folk to reserve their energy for the simple daily tasks that rightly occupy them.

BURT KOZLOFF
Manhattan

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Brave and Nondelusional

Except for the fact that you, Mr. X – a brave and nondelusional fellow traveler – are obviously male and living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, your story mirrors a good part of my life for the last few years. Oh, how I sympathize with you.

Most conversations that I have nowadays veer toward politics and our global struggle against Islamic terrorists. Yes, it is okay to put a name to this global menace. No matter how politically incorrect it is, I always state clearly that this is definitely a battle of good versus evil. Herein I make my first fatal error with the liberal/progressive crowd that I find myself in, whether at synagogue, work, and almost every other venue. To these folks, there is no good and evil, just murky areas of all shades in between. I have heard the evildoers called freedom fighters, colonial resisters, militants, and many other syrupy terms.

My second fatal error occurs when I admit – it often feels as if I am admitting to having been an escaped convict or mental case – to being a Republican. This is when the Bush jokes and invective fly fast and furious. I wouldn’t be shocked if then some otherwise good people feel like smacking me silly. By the way, my husband is a Democrat – I understand your wife also is of a different party affiliation, almost like a mixed marriage – but thankfully of the “centered” variety. He even plans on voting for President Bush.

The icing on the cake – which these folks often wish would land on my face – is when I voice strong support, not the wishy-washy variety, for Israel’s fight against the Islamofascists. You must be wondering why I don’t receive more support from my fellow Jews on this highly emotional subject. Simply put, most of the Jews in my area are ultraliberals, who hang onto the dangerous illusion that if only Israel gave up more land, then all would be well in Terror Land.

I, for one, prefer to live in this universe and not in a parallel one, however uncomfortable it may be at times. So to you, my fellow brave warrior, I offer this small comfort: You are not alone, no matter how lonely you may feel as a Republican living in the confines of the ultraliberal West Side. There are probably many other closet Republicans out there, and perhaps your article will beckon them to “out” themselves. Four more years. I also like the Texan.

MRS. X, aka ADINA KUTNICKI
Ridgewood, N.J.

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Wasteland of Hypocrisy

I come bearing good news. You are not alone. I, too, live in the wasteland of hypocrisy that is the Upper West Side. Better yet, I know of at least two others, one of whom is my fiance, the other a woman I met at a recent National Review party to kick off the Republican National Convention.

As I type, my “W Stands for Women” poster is proudly displayed in my window – hopefully, far enough up to prevent breakage. We too have been ostracized for daring to think differently. As my fiance recently stated, “We feel like a gay couple in Birmingham in 1955. It’s just so tiring, “a comment that I’m sure will enrage everyone from Andrew Sullivan on down, but true, nonetheless.

I resent the assumption that “conservative” equates to “stupidity.” Between the two of us there exist several bachelors and masters degrees, none of which is in racism or inbreeding but history, philosophy, business, and psychology; 15-plus years of employment in education, child development, and software design and development; a sincere appreciation for the arts, a well-developed understanding of democracy – its development and requirements for maintenance – and, perhaps, most important of all, a great deal of tolerance. Hmm, that almost sounds like a Democrat, doesn’t it? Indeed, we are both reformists.

I have a personal theory about the radical left that I’ve developed from my many years experience in working with children. Mind you, this theory has not been tested – mostly because I can’t get someone with an opposing opinion to stay in a conversation once they’ve determined my “enemy status.” I call it the “Tooth Fairy Memo.”

Let’s use our uber-intellectual, hygiene-optional neighbor, Michael Moore, for example. Obviously, somewhere in his childhood, young Mr. Moore must have once experienced the ultimate gratification of the “Tooth Fairy” phenomenon.

Through absolutely no physical effort or mental exertion on his part – except the loss of a tooth – money “appears” while he sleeps – perhaps not great sums of money in comparison to the “dollar a year of life” that seems popular with today’s children, but free money nonetheless. Other gift-giving occasions such as birthdays and holidays only reinforce the idea that it is, indeed, entirely possible to “wish” something into existence.

Therefore, through the process of reinforcement, young Mr. Moore grows up believing that anything is achievable if only he “believes” it.

Movies and news articles can be made with no actual basis in fact and still be financially successful; celebrities with grade-school educations can be considered “politically savvy” enough to report the news and, best of all, if everybody holds hands and sings “Kum ba yah” – wait, that’s a Christian song – how about “Soak up the Sun” by that other famous Tooth Fairy Delusional, Sheryl Crow? – there will be “NO WAR!!!” Simply wanting there to be no war, no greed, no murder, no rape, no cruelty, money to grow on trees, oil to be replaced by energy created from the power of human love, etc., all this is possible through “belief.”

What a wonderful idea. The problem is, of course, there is no tooth fairy, a memo the radical left – these highly enlightened warriors for peace – obviously did not get.

Simply put, these people who are “memo-less” are not responsible for their ignorance. We must strive to be more tolerant and to help them overcome their societally imposed deficit. They will overcome this. It can happen, I know, if only we all “believe.”

However, since I am a conservative and by my very nature a tad more practical, perhaps it might simply be easier to have “60 Minutes” run the Tooth Fairy memos for the convenience of all.

Manhattan

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