AMERICA’S CRISIS

Jonathan Rauch’s article, “America’s Crack-Up” (July 26), acknowledges a basic political principle that conservatives have been fighting a losing battle to preserve: limited government. Although he departs from American liberalism’s main tenet, expansion of administrative and paternalistic government, his arguments call for a superficial change at best. He seems unwilling or unable to see the role that an increasingly intrusive government has played in the erosion of morality and refuses to recognize the important role that religion has historically played in Americans’ adherence to objective moral standards.

He acknowledges the need of limited government in the areas of defense, infrastructure, enforcing criminal laws and broad safety-net programs such as Social Security. Yet these are the areas that have been largely sacrificed for the social programs that, Rauch admits, are not the solution.

He bounces from one extreme (“forget about government”) to another (“fumbling around in the dark,”) both of which deny the solutions that exist in cutting back on government and relying on individuals to bring traditional moral principles to bear on the problems government hasn’t solved.

STATE SEN. BILL LEONARD (R-BIG BEAR)

Sacramento