VALUE JUDGMENTS

Thank you for publishing three articles Sept. 20 that exposed the fallacies of the family-values juggernaut. Mary Kay Blakely (“Travels in the Post-Nuclear Age”) made me realize that not only is my non-traditional family worthy of respect but also that the Republicans’ yet-to-be-defined “traditional family” constitutes but a minuscule minority of the population in the United States.

Richard Rodriguez presented us with personal reminiscences of growing up gay (“Huck Finn, Dan Quayle and the Value of Acceptance) and raised still more questions about the politics of the family.

And the “Family Album” photo essay complemented both articles.

I’ve always wanted to define my political views with a simple phrase that would both clarify my thinking and the perception that others have of me. I think I’ve found it, for I am surely one of Blakely’s outlaws.

R. LEONARD BROWN

Los Angeles