European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 13, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine rep. Patricia Schroe Obriaco kind of pm family Wetter Protection we both political parties using family and moral issues Bye. Dionne or. New York times n campaigns around the country this fall and in discussions by party officials in Washington both republicans and democrats Are trying to reach voters Wilh appeals based on moral concerns and family values. In i960, family work and neighbourhood were the byword of Ronald Reagan s plea for a return to traditional  today Many democrats As Well As republicans Are following a similar path As they discuss issues that Are in Many ways new to american politics. As the two parties try to refine their approach to these que Auona the debate focuses on exactly what the gov amment role ought to be in encouraging citizens 10 live by certain norms and whal. If anything government can do to Sloan then families. For republicans the pro family approach has for More than a decade been Central to Thor Effort to build support among former democrats and voters who Are less Well off. In Oklahoma the support of conservative religious anti Vacis with 3 Rong concerns about such issues was a keys  Victory of Don Nickles in his 1980 race for the Senate and he is employing similar Raffas he seeks re election this year against rep. Jim Jonas a Tut a Democrat. Now democrats Are also paying More attention to such issues aiming in part at improving their image m Sei Oklahoma where Many voters have come to the pan ignoring a everyday concerns of basically conservative Middle class families. For example a new policy paper drawn up by the democratic policy commission under Tho auspices of tha party s National committee puts strengthening the family at the top of its list of priorities. Al the same time though democratic candidates and lha panel s policy statement Challenge the republicans to support Concrete programs to assist families and children while also arguing that the republicans Are not willing to come of terms with 1he fact that woman Are not Likely to leave the work Force. While Many political candidates Are wary of the politics of values since it could alienate significant minorities in the electorate the signs of its existence Are Many and include the allowing the Rise of drugs As an Issue has led to Calls for a crackdown not Only on Sellers taut on users. The joint address on drugs by the president and Nancy Reagan which called or creating a climate of intolerance toward drug use was a sign of a Sharp change irom past approaches which generally Laid heavy stress on compassion toward users and was wary of moral condemnation As a Way of combating addiction. Liberals have shown an increased interest in policies to strengthen family life and some like gov. Mario m. Cuomo of new York have endorsed teaching values in Public schools. For at least a decade liberals have feared that such approaches might encroach on individual rights now such fears coexist with a desire to appear More mainstream on family questions. Some conservative thinkers have shown interest in what they Call a conservative welfare state which would use Public funds to strengthen families and promote traditional values. Some proposal like a major increase in the tax exemption for children would significantly help the less Welt off. The growth of fundamentalist protestant involvement in politics has bred a Complex discussion Over what role religion should play in Public life. Talk of a return to so called traditional values is often associated Wilh the religious right. And some civil libertarians and defenders of minority rights wary that the new mood May help undo what they regard As genuine Progress in recent decades toward greater tolerance David Kunst vice president of people Lor the american Way a group that Battles the religious right says he and his allies Are sympathetic with the search for ways to inject values in the Public debate without being intolerant of the ideas of  the key question he said is. Whether it s possible for schools to inculcate students with values that All americans share regardless of religion without indoctrinating children with ideas that some groups share and others do  some of the proposals being made in the name of strengthening families Are consistent Wilh the longstanding goals of feminists and other advocates of equal rights says rep. Patricia Schroedar of Colorado the democratic congresswoman is co sponsoring a Bill thai would require employers to give parents 18 weeks of unpaid leave to take care of a Newborn baby a newly adopted baby or a seriously ill child or Parent. She Calls she proposal the kind of pro family worker Protection we need and says the legislation is a Challenge to republicans. For All their talk the rhetoric of this administration has not yet brought about a turnaround in the divorce rate " she said. You Haven t seen any of the things that you were supposed to see if you talked about traditional  Schroeder said her proposals Relle cled the enormous growth in the number of women in the work Force and that government must consider the needs of women who Are working because their families cannot make ends meet without two incomes. There is Little question that demographic changes account for a Good part of the new interest in child cars and family issues. Besides he increasing proportion of women who work there is also the sheer growth in the number of new parents in the baby Boom generation the very group that fuelled so much of the revolt against traditional norms. Martin t. O Connoll the chief of the Fertility statistics Branch at the census Bureau said that according to 1985 Seal Islic 78.2 percent o women now 30 to 39 years old had Al least one child. In 1976, Only 58,3 percent of he same women they were Hen 21 to 30 years old had children. Alan Carlson the president of 1he Rockford Institute a think Lank oriented to social conservatism said that this demographic shift was also changing the social climate. As members of the baby Boom have children of their own he argued their values on such issues As drug use and sexuality were Likely to become More conservative. The definition of a social conservative he said is a Liberal with a daughter in High  Many conservatives Welcome the new interest shown by liberals in the issues of family and values. Paul Weyrich the president of the free Congress research and education foundation and a figure Al the for Elrona of the new right is actively seeking the cooperation of democrats in Hie new project on social  we re seeking. A fundamental change in people s attitudes he said. For that to happen it has to be bipartisan " but conservatives for whom social values Are Central differ from both traditional republicans and democrats. Unlike some republicans Weyrich said his allies Are not afraid to use government social end welfare policy to promote families and traditional values. We say that there Are government policies which affect the individual the family the society he said. Ills recognizing Hal government May have a role in this provided that role does not gel out of  but unlike Many liberals the Strong social conservatives fundamentally oppose most of the changes in family life that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. They oppose the new tolerance shown toward homosexuality and abortion Lor example end think permissiveness and a Lack of personal discipline Are Root causes of what they see As the current crisis of values. Monday october 13. 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13