Ethical view

Re “Dueling legacies on church and state,” Opinion, Dec. 20

Tim Rutten’s premise for condemning the social conservatism of a Paul Weyrich as some sort of theocratic dismantling of the American way is plainly wrong. Key values of our nation regarding marriage, the right to life, the free market/free enterprise system, responsibility of the individual for oneself and judicious restraints on freedom of speech are indeed traditional and were entirely American from our country’s inception.

Such matters are essentially moral or ethical, not narrowly religious but rather philosophical in nature. Upholding these positions would be perceived somewhat perversely as “divisive” and “destructive” only by those with opposing viewpoints.

John N. Heil

Los Angeles