What do the Tea Partyers want? What do the Freedom Line protesters want? Limited government with low taxes? A strong defense?

Well, we have a strong defense that is so strong that we are waging two foreign wards on credit thanks to China, Indonesia, Japan and others who invest in our treasury notes.

There are countries with limited governments that do little for citizens. Haiti is an example. Many Haitians live on $1 a day. Even when Mother Nature is not pounding them with hurricanes and earthquakes, people suffer from shortages of food, clean water, adequate shelter and necessities and conveniences we take for granted.

Limited government is not the answer. A democratic government by the people who have the power and can exercise it for the common good is the answer. We strive for this system and are the envy of the world. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail, depending on the leaders we elect.

It is truly beyond me how ignorant many Americans are about the benefits and conveniences we have in this country. As the old line goes, an American is someone who eats his (government-inspected) breakfast, drives to work on the (government-provided) highway, is glad that his parents are receiving (government-provided) Social Security and Medicare, puts his pay checks in this (government-insured) bank account and then calls the radio station or writes the local newspaper to complain about excessive government.

We shouldn’t expect benevolence from corporations. A corporation’s goal is to make money for shareholders. I want to live in a civilized country where the welfare of individuals means more than corporate profits or contributions.

I recently read about a veteran remarking that he earned his health insurnace fighting to defend freedom and liberty, and now he demands that the government keep its paws off his VA insurance. He said that if the government tries to socialize health care in America, all hell will break loose.

People are confused. Some say keep the government out of Medicare. You try to explain that Medicare is run by the government. They reply, “Don’t confuse me with facts. Keep the government out of Medicare.”

This convinces me that people are either very stupid or naive. They don’t know and don’t care where the benefits they receive come from. Many are old enough to remember the passage of legislation regarding their benefits and still don’t get it. Now I understand why Bush was elected twice.

Our government is far from perfect. It will never be perfect. But it is important that we keep alert, informed and hold our elected officials accountable, and I hope we will do it in an effective and civil matter.



Patricia Gainey

Thomasville