Re: the March 22 article "Being Republican vs. being conservative."
As an 81 year old lifelong liberal I was fascinated by Lynn Schmidt's article listing the 15 principles of Conservatism from the Principles First Summit. The only principle listed that I question is #12 - "Civic associations, faith communities and families should be. the primary engines of our culture- not the state". I'm not sure what a culture engine is but certainly it's not the state. Who can argue against basic principles like "Integrity, character and virtue matter" or "Equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes". If these are true conservative values liberals and conservatives may not be that far apart in our core beliefs. Our divisions may be driven by political party dogma.
Morton Smith
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
