servative circles to suggest that such anthing as the common good exists andnthat in a diverse and pluralistic societynone must at times turn to the federalngovernment to protect and nurture thisncommon good. Well, if this be heresynthen make the most of it, for conservatismncannot afford to tie itself to anSocial Darwinian vision of a societyncomposed of totally self-sufficient individuals.nConservatives who take thisnpath doom themselves to irrelevancenand, in effect, concede the fight to thenliberals, who cleverly garb their socialisticnpublic policies in humanitarianismnand the ethics of the Sermon on thenMount.nConservatives need to reclaim thenhigh ground of humanitarianism fromnthe liberals, forge a conservative socialnconsciousness, curtail the excesses ofnliberal social policy and turn the Denpartment of Health and Human Servicesninto a humane and efficient agency,none that genuinely promotes the commonngood rather than the programs ofngroups who wish only to aggrandizentheir own narrow interests. To accomplishnthis will require the wisdom ofnSolomon, the courage of King Davidnand the chutzpah of Moses, not to mentionna pure heart and a sound body.nRonald Reagan may just have what itntakes.nBill Boyarsky’s Ronald Reagan: HisnLife and Rise to the Presidency offersninsight into the public and personalnassets that President Reagan has broughtnto Washington. In contrast to JimmynCarter—that Splendid Vacillator of recentnAmerican politics—Reagan possessesndecisiveness and self-assurancenborn of his strength of character. Toonoften, those blessed with these characteristicsnevidence a certain insensitivityntoward others. But in Reagan’s handlingnof civil liberties while governor of California,nBoyarsky discerns a trait thatnshows up elsewhere as well: “He was,nin short, a humane and concernednman. . . .” The same could be said ofnJimmy Carter, but that ill-starred Georgiannlacked Reagan’s sense of purposenlO^MHHH^HMnChronicle§ of Culturenand his willingness to act.nConservatives may be startled to learnnof Governor Reagan’s refusal to supportnan antihomosexual measure aimed atnschoolteachers in California. HerenReagan defied those who would definenconservatism through key litmus tests.nIn opposing Proposition 6 GovernornReagan said: “What if an overwroughtnyoungster disappointed by bad gradesnimagined it was the teacher’s fault andnstruck out by accusing the teacher ofnadvocating homosexuality.” Innocentnlives could be ruined.” There speaks thenvoice of a thoughtful man who refusesnto be squeezed into the procrustean bednof narrow ideology. Reagan’s pragmatism—groundednupon principled conservatism—complementsnthis refusalnand enables him to move skillfully withinnour increasingly fragile political system.nKneejerk conservatism is as tiresomenand self-defeating as knee-jerknliberalism.nPresident Reagan believes firmly innself-reliance, industriousness, individualninitiative and self-discipline. Thesentraits have been battered by friend andnfoe alike in recent years. Conservativesnhave betrayed them by refusing to realizenthat these virtues must be combinednwith a humane regard for the unfortunatenones among us. Liberals have condemnednthem as viciously irrelevant innthe urban, industrial America of today.nInjusticenUPI reports that the Library of Congress’snnational library service for thenblind “is spending more than $100,000″nof the taxpayers’ money “to producenPlayboy magazine in braille and distributenit free to the blind.”nWe consider this a blatant injustice.nIf Playboy is going to be made accessiblenin a more tactile form, why should thensightless be the only beneficiaries of thenfederal government’s largess.’ The dis­nnnLIBERAL CULTUREnBoth are wrong, and with the aid ofnBoyarsky’s book, I sense that RonaldnReagan understands t’ne delicate balancenbetween the individual and society,nbetween self-reliance and the need tonminister to those for whom reliancensolely upon self means frustration andndefeat. Ronald Reagan grew up in ansmall town in Illinois where the oldfashionednvirtues were taken seriously,nbut he has also governed the state ofnCalifornia, a nation within a nation,nthat exhibits in microcosm the problemsnAmerica faces today. As governor henpromoted prison reform, balanced thenclaims of environmentalists with thenneed for economic development andnsought to separate the permanentlynneedy from those who simply requiredntemporary aid. In the volatile area ofnrace relations Boyarsky exoneratesnReagan of complicity with the racismnthat has long crippled large segmentsnof American conservatism.nIs Ronald Reagan the man for allnseasons who can unite humaneness,ntoughmindedness and efficiency into anconservative social consciousness thatnwill rout the chaotic liberal social policiesnof the last forty years.-* Let us hopenso, for if President Reagan fails, JosephnCalifano waits in the wings to take anothernshot at reviving the Great Society.nAnd we have had enough of that. Dntinguished Librarian of Congress, Mr.nDaniel Boorstin, explained:nOf the more than 30 magazinesnavailable in braille form. Playboy isnone of the most popular items . . .nSmall wonder.n^£?^”«^n