Balancing Act

It is sad commentary on the times we live in that a candidate for President is being accused of being a “closet moderate.” I had always thought the hypothetical typical American citizen was a moderate. All other things being equal, I would rather vote for a moderate.

Liberty and justice are two of the most important underlying concepts of democracy; however, they are opposites, and when taken to extremes they come into conflict. If extremists control the agenda, liberty and justice will eventually come to a cataclysmic struggle for supremacy in which only one will survive.

Justice (equal treatment for all) will inevitably prevail over liberty (where each person has the right to do as he pleases). The reason is that if unlimited liberty (which is equivalent to anarchy) prevails initially, it will soon be followed by repressive government, because a nation as advanced as ours cannot exist in a state of anarchy. The country is just too complicated and dependent on large-scale enterprises for its continued existence.

The spirit of democracy may be weakening, but if the structure that surrounds it is to survive, the country must maintain a balance between liberty and justice; i.e., moderation.

KENNETH L. PERRY

Newport Beach