Editor's note: This letter was originally published 15 years ago today.
Basic trust was lost
The gigantic problems facing our nation do not stem from an efficient and caring government. No, these insidious, nearly insoluble problems all spring from the opposite of efficiency and deep caring for our people.
The condition of our nation is a testimony to leadership failure, a complete inability to honestly care and plan for the future of our country and our children, a clear picture of unabated, garish, selfish interests that are unraveling the fabric of our republic. Confidence and trust in government are basic to the continuity of our democratic system. To lose these factors is to lose the soul of our nation.
Those now sitting in office are just glad to be there with their names on the historical rolls. Now they can strut, preen and offer congratulatory praise to each other. To them, just getting there seems the primary goal.
It is absurd to expect achievement from vain men and women whose goal from the beginning was to serve themselves. The true health of our nation is far, far removed from their first priority. They each, Republicans and Democrats alike, serve their party and themselves first, even when government processes are openly thwarted. Government is now a travesty of confusion and despair resulting from interests other than what is best for our people and our land.
The glaring evidence of failure is plain to be seen before the eyes of all who would look honestly and objectively. Soon we must face these darkly colored facts that will become disastrous beyond our mind if we refuse to acknowledge and address them.
LOUIE SEIBERT
Hardy