In my old age, I've become what I call a "radical moderate." When I was young, I saw things very clearly, and my ideology was pure. When I was a sophomore in high school in 1964, I admired the passion and clarity of vision of the conservatives and I worked hard in the Goldwater for President campaign; and I still admire Goldwater's integrity and passion. By 1968, I was a liberal, involved in the civil rights and peace movements, and boycotting lettuce and grapes in support of the United Farm Workers. I've remained quite liberal in my viewpoint ever since, but I'm no longer a purist. I guess you could call me a "democratic socialist," but I have an annoying tendency to see good in the thinking and actions of conservatives and capitalists.

If I seek ideological purity, I am doomed to a life of failure and hypocrisy. Life is too complex and dirty for that, and it's impossible to live it with complete purity. I may boycott a brand of sneakers because they employ people at substandard wages, but then I deprive a family of the admittedly meager wages they would have earned from that pair of sneakers. I may be able to feed my children a diet of only organic and politically correct vegetables and grains, but can the whole world survive on such a diet? What about all those carnivorous birds and mammals walking the earth - should we figure out a way to encourage them to become vegetarians?

I suppose it's true that big corporations have very small consciences, but it's also true that the income earned by the big corporations supplies retirement income to millions of wonderful grandmas and grandpas.

There is very little in this world that is black and white, and there is a whole lot of grey. We are all doomed to live a life of moral compromise. Is this hypocrisy? No, I don't think so. We have to keep pushing the world toward the good, but we have to keep our feet planted in reality if we are to accomplish anything.

So, I'd like to apologize to all of you who are hurt by my Wednesday trips to McDonald's to feast on 39-cent cheeseburgers. I'm aware of the disappearing rain forests and the misery the cows endure, and I appreciate the sincerity of those who live their lives with global vision. For me, though, it's just a cheeseburger, and it tastes good.

I am engaged to marry a woman who is wonderfully and hopelessly idealistic. She seems to be quite comfortable with my cheeseburger habit and my AT&T stock, but it's going to take me a while to develop a way of cooking that accommodates both of us.

-Joe Offer, a living moral compromise-