On the face of it, the only thing that E.J. Dionne's column has in common with the column by CUA President John Garvey is that both appeared in the pages of the Washington Post's Outlook section.
But, at a deeper level, both articles are involved with recalling Americans to their own best political traditions. Dionne notes that conservatives used to care, and care deeply, about community but have lost that commitment under the hyper-individualistic impulses of their libertarian wing. John Garvey notes that liberals used to champion the "wall of separation" between Church and State but have been clamoring over it the past couple of months to tell Catholics schools and charities we have to cover contraception in our health plans. Both articles, then, show the value in taking a long view, both respect the ideological commitments at the heart of America's two great political parties, and both point out that returning to roots is something that is worthwhile for everyone.
