Letter to the Editor: When America Was Great

To The Editor:

I remember when this country was great, when we had dreams, when hopes ran high, when we knew that our lives could be better than our parents.  We set a course for wealth, property, education and status.  As our parents lived through the Great Depression, they said nothing.  We established government agencies to secure our place on the world stage.  As our parents were the victors in WWII, they said nothing.

It was not obvious, but our parents knew what made this the greatest Nation in history.  It was all contained in a simple phrase --- “Don’t make a federal case out of it.”  It was indeed a fact of life that ensured our freedom which ultimately provides the source of the American Dream and Exceptionalism.  

Imagine how better this country would be if we had not made a federal case out of Healthcare, energy, education, safety, mileage standards, loans, housing, welfare, ethanol, green initiatives, non-lead batteries, play pins, sleeping arrangements for immigrant goat herders, orange growers, fluoride in toothpaste, mercury in lights … and the list goes on and on.    

For years, we have made a federal case out of almost everything, including all those issues so better handled at the local and state level.  We are on a downhill path to European democracy – nothing more than socialism.  And as a result, we have lost the American Dream and the Exceptionalism that made us world leaders.

We are now in full national campaign mode, with politicians in primaries and elections across the country promising to cut waste and abuse.   It is always the same message.  

When we will learn – one politician’s waste is another politician’s special program….

My opponents in the primary and general election still have not offered a single suggestion to cut any of the numerous un-elected bureaucracies; they simply support it all, as stated in glorious sound bites.  

We must demand more.  It is time to take off the gloves and demand that our elected representatives take a stand, discuss their thoughts and ideals.  

It is time for substance, as sound bites are ruining this Nation.

I believe that the debt, spending, unelected bureaucracies and the un-audited Federal Reserve are destroying private sector jobs and killing families.  Across the board cuts are required, including the elimination of Congressional pensions and health benefits.  

The time to cut waste and abuse has past.  We need to return government to state and local control or we will be no better than a bankrupted European nation.

Tom Weaver

Westford, MA

** Weaver is a Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat