This letter is in regard to Alex Knepper's column criticizing the Religious Right. He has an improper understanding of what makes a classical liberal. It is time for a proper representation of classical liberalism.
He ignores the words of John Locke: "Freedom is not, as we are told, A Liberty for every Man to do what he lists," but is only the liberty for man to act under natural law. An essential part of the vast liberties that the Enlightenment era brought to people was with the understanding that they would act morally on their own, respecting natural law. If you have a disregard for natural law, you aren't really a classical liberal. We, as classical liberals, believe that man, using reason, can act morally without a king telling him everything he must do.
However, a government still has the right to create civil laws, as long as they are in agreement with natural law. John Locke went as far as to say that an atheist should not be trusted in government, because he has no higher power to hold him accountable for his actions. Natural law, which all classical liberals recognize as coming from God, dictates that human life is sacred. It actually says that man may not give up his own life, for example, via euthanasia, because he has no right to his own life. Only God does. Those with strong faith in God and those with only a limited idea of a deity based solely on reason can agree about the viability of natural law and how it is applied.
It just so happens that America's Religious Right is the only group that comes close to recognizing the natural law of our Founding Fathers embedded in the foundation of our nation.
TJ Whittle Freshman, School of Public Affairs
