Parents feel they are losing control over their kids to television, lousy schools, and crime. Democrats and the left have been reluctant to take this moral unease seriously. The problem for Republicans is that families sense a lot of their problems arise because parents aren't around enough, because they're working too much in order to make ends meet. If the plant that provides most of the employment in your town closes, it's hard to maintain community and feed your family. Slowly, starting in '92, Democrats began to realize they could talk about family issues and push the Republicans to face up to the economic problems.
Civil society needs protection from both government and the market.
That view is part of the common sense of most people. All letters to the editor are for publication and may be edited for length and clarity.