Editor,
I enjoyed Benjamin Sanchez's letter to the editor in Thursday's Daily Lobo. He might enjoy taking a broader look into philosophy.
One great philosopher, often called the father of conservative thought, is Edmund Burke. He believed that strong traditions have withstood the test of time and should not be changed based on whims, fashion or folly.
While logically these ideas sound appealing, one has to wonder what happens when strong traditions and respect for authority cause harm and wrongdoing. Some contemporary examples include the decades of sexual abuse of children that were tolerated within the Catholic Church and the years of sexual abuse that occurred against female cadets by males at the Air Force Academy. In these cases, the right thing only began to be done after the courts, the law, newspapers and public opinion became involved.
The liberal tradition also has forefathers, and one was William Gladstone. He was a strong advocate of extending voting rights to those who previously did not have them, because originally in England, only the property-owning class could vote.
His advocacy also led to his own political benefit in winning an election, because the right to vote had been extended to those who previously could not vote, and they voted for him.
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This extension of the power to vote is a classic liberal idea, and in America, the Democratic Party has frequently supported the extension of rights to those who previously did not have them. This has also included support for workers to join unions. There was a historical period when organizing unions was illegal, because the result of organized labor could interfere with profits, and in America, interference with profits is seen as an infringement of rights.
In the early 1900s, Democrats supported ending child labor in mines. This was a hot political topic at the time, because large corporate entities and mine owners were thought of as kings, and they opposed losing their labor force.
In contemporary times, family values have been the framework from which abortion and homosexuality have been viewed, but the bigger picture involves the extension of rights to those who previously did not have them.
From an ideological perspective, advocating for the unborn is a perspective that fits within a liberal tradition, but it would have to fit within a larger question involving establishing constitutional rights for all minors. The fact is that the often fatal plight of many unwanted children who become lost within the foster care system might be prevented if the children themselves had constitutional rights and if cities or counties all over the nation were forced to maintain proper staffing levels to support those rights.
On the other hand, there is a historical relationship between the liberal tradition and the Democratic Party involving reproductive rights. Anyone wishing to understand this better should consider looking at the life of Margaret Sanger. She is often called the mother of birth control. She believed safe legal birth control would prevent back-alley deaths of pregnant women who got abortions on the black market and bled to death after complications.
Oftentimes, contemporary political issues involve 100 or more years of history.
Laurie Castro
UNM student
