My Letter to every newspaper in the State of Indiana

Here is a letter I wrote and submitted to every newspaper in the state of Indiana asking that it be put in print. I would encourage others to do something similar. Perhaps we can reach enough people to get something accomplished.

One of the most basic principles of the form of government that we have in the United States is representation of the people in congress. Throughout our history we have entrusted people of high ethical and moral principles to represent our interests in government. This system was effective for many decades and yielded prosperity for the American people. In recent years it would appear that this system has become flawed and from my perspective there remains no representation by people of ethics and morals; in fact it would seem as if there was no representation of the people whatsoever within the halls of government.

In recent years we watched as gas prices topped 5 dollars a gallon, falsehoods were given to engage in wars in foreign lands, the economy was stripped dry, and against overwhelming opposition, (something like 89% in polls I have seen) the government bailed out bankers and automakers. In turn the bankers would not loan money to businesses and the auto makers, GM in particular spent billions of tax payer dollars to renovate factories overseas while at the same time cutting thousands of American jobs, which in turn trickled down to other supporting businesses and turned that number into tens of thousands of lost jobs. Under what definition is this representation? During this time period, the government sat back and watched as corporate giants like Wal-Mart ate up smaller businesses and forced them to close. These people did nothing wrong, in most cases they tried to earn an honest living and offer their customers the best prices possible. Unfortunately for them, when your competitor is the manufacturer’s largest customer, they dictate pricing in a manner which the small operations could never hope to compete with. These businesses did not squander their earnings and made good business decisions, they were merely a victim of a David vs. Goliath confrontation. Who bailed these honest people out?

Now the auto industry is in shambles and again the government comes to the rescue; however, they failed to tell you that by forcing the automakers into bankruptcy, they had to in turn take away franchises from many more “small people” and that these “small people” are left with millions of dollars of inventories of both vehicles and parts that they are responsible for. Once again it is the little guy who pays the price for the big guy not being able to manage their business. Meanwhile, the government sits back and stands idly by. So again many jobs are lost and many small businesses put to sleep like a lame horse. Who is left to pay for all of this generosity that our government rewards to mismanaged businesses? We are.

I am left wondering, just how much abuse are the American people willing to take before they stand up and say “Enough is enough.” It would seem logical that after what we have been through, that we would stand up and demand representation, yet for some unknown reason, the people still sleep. We are at a breaking point and it seems the vast majority of the public is oblivious of what is transpiring right before their very eyes. We continue to give money to foreign governments, at the same time we have approximately 1 in 10 people out of a job. People’s homes are being foreclosed upon by the tens of thousands, yet the people still sleep. Businesses are allowed to continually rape the public. Here is an example: Your utility bill is late, your service gets shut off and you have no job and are struggling just to keep basic services. What do these people do? They charge you an unrealistic reconnection fee to restore your service, yet once again, the government sits idly by and watches. Again I ask; who is being represented?

People who have lost their jobs and have run out of unemployment benefits (if they even qualified to get them) cannot put food on their tables to feed their children; in the meantime our government is giving tens of millions of dollars to foreign governments to help with their population. I hate to sound like a broken record; however, again I ask, who is being represented?

When are the people of this nation going to wake up? What sort of tragedy will it take in order to snap us out of this hypnosis? The time has come for our representation in Washington to step aside and allow some fresh blood to take over the reins. How much good has come out all of their years of experience? Do you thing that someone with absolutely no experience could do any worse?

The time has come for us to stand up with a united voice and say “NO MORE!” We have tried writing them, calling them, pleading with them, and begging them to represent us. Our voices have fallen on deaf ears. This leaves us with only one solution. Vote every single incumbent out of office and let someone else give it a try. Have you ever written your congressman only to get a response that was either not related to the subject or was in complete opposition to what you wrote but under the premise that they are agreeing with you? Are these people using a computer program to seek out keywords and then make a computer generated response to the letter? I have written my congressman on several occasions through his e-mail service and received responses exactly like what I just described. Again I ask: who is being represented?

I would highly encourage any person who cares about this great nation to run for an elected office. You and I are exactly what our country needs at this most critical point in our history. The problem with politics in America is that it is a popularity contest. He, who has the most finances, can buy all the friends and votes he needs. That needs to stop if we ever hope to leave anything to our children. These people are systematically stripping this nation of every penny it has. They have put us under an impossible debt which could never be hoped to be paid for in 3 generations. Your children are literally being born into tens of thousands of dollars in debt before they take their first breath. WHO IS BEING REPRESENTED?

[edit on 5/30/2009 by DarrylGalasso]

You my friend, have given me inspiration. Have any of them printed it yet? Or are you yet to submit it to them?

Originally posted by Piranha
You my friend, have given me inspiration. Have any of them printed it yet? Or are you yet to submit it to them?

I just finished sending it. It took me 3 hours to e-mail every paper. Actually I should have been in bed 5 hours ago, I just read an article before going to bed that irritated me to the point I wanted to voice my opinion to as many people as possible.

May I point out two inconsistencies in your otherwise great letter, and maybe a suggestion?

1. It is not, it seems at the moment, a David and Goliath contest, because in that contest the little guy won. So surely, that is promising for the little guy here. Or even, hopefully, it is just that same contest all over again and the little guy will win. How about boycotting the huge companies? If they have no customers, they cannot succeed.

2. It is not a popularity contest, it is only about money, as you said. Unfortunately, money seems to rule this world. I am at a loss as to where to turn here. A lot of people have suggested that we could live without money, but while the greedy people are at the top I don't think it will work.

I don't think anyone is going to give you the space to print that. They might edit it down to a few lines and snippets - but you're nuts if you think they'll print it in it's entirety. Maybe a very FEW papers - but not much else. Furthermore, you'll probably get ripped to shreds in the editors notes.

Personally, I think you have a rose colored view of history, much of it you weren't around to live and endure. Really, it seems to me, that not much has changed. Scandal, corruption, monopolies, use of sweeping government force, deadlocks in congress, unjustified wars for the procurement of resources, exhorberant taxes, etc... etc...

... but you don't live in those times. Those concerns are old and faded... the vast majority of them didn't come true, or didn't really matter in the long run. The world kept turning, people kept living. What you're presented with now, though, is fundamentally different than what our ancestors had at their disposal. We are in the age of instantaneous communication... where news, opinions, and concerns are heard from all over the world via multiple differing outlets and multiple different broadcasters in the blink of a virtual eye. The world, has become a small village again. When such a vast array of competing news sources are vying for your attention in such a crowded market, a byproduct of this is that they will use whatever they can to keep you tuned in. They often turn to those things which speak to the basest human interests... sex, violence, scandal. Not many people stop to gawk and stare at someone helping a homeless person get the medical care he needs... but oh lord, when there's a car accident, a fight, or a celebrity shaming, the gawkers come out in droves. They know this.

Couple this with ultra-cheap productions where you simply buy your facts from an independent source like AP or Reuters and then get your most popular talking heads to spout their opinions and set the spin-machine to full tilt. Cheaper than reporters in the field or a staff of researchers. To top it off, in the last few years we've seen the alignment of network news agencies to political movements. There's little doubt the bias that MSNBC or FOX hold, and their drawing in audiences in record numbers by playing the Con vs. Lib game.

I think you're falling for a trick of perception.

Michael Crichton had a wonderful quote on the subject:

As I researched these old fears, to find out what had been said in the past, I made several important discoveries. The first is that there is nothing more sobering than a 30 year old newspaper. You can’t figure out what the headlines mean. You don’t know who the people are. Theodore Green, John Sparkman, George Reedy, Jack Watson, Kenneth Duberstein. You thumb through page after page of vanished concerns—issues that apparently were vitally important at the time, and now don’t matter at all. It’s amazing how many pressing concerns are literally of the moment. They won’t matter in six months, and certainly not in six years. And if they won’t matter then, are they really worth our attention now?

Though I would argue against the blase of ignoring certain topics of concern, it's important to note that 90% of the troubles you're mired in today will generally be forgotten or marginalized in the future. Whatever world transpires from those events, life will go on, society will progress, and the world WILL keep turning.

Originally posted by Lasheic

Michael Crichton had a wonderful quote on the subject:

As I researched these old fears, to find out what had been said in the past, I made several important discoveries. The first is that there is nothing more sobering than a 30 year old newspaper. You can’t figure out what the headlines mean. You don’t know who the people are. Theodore Green, John Sparkman, George Reedy, Jack Watson, Kenneth Duberstein. You thumb through page after page of vanished concerns—issues that apparently were vitally important at the time, and now don’t matter at all. It’s amazing how many pressing concerns are literally of the moment. They won’t matter in six months, and certainly not in six years. And if they won’t matter then, are they really worth our attention now?

Though I would argue against the blase of ignoring certain topics of concern, it's important to note that 90% of the troubles you're mired in today will generally be forgotten or marginalized in the future. Whatever world transpires from those events, life will go on, society will progress, and the world WILL keep turning.

Very good quote there. Thanks for that. I would counter that, while I agree that 90% of the topics of today will be forgotten and don't really matter, there are increasingly more topics of today that DO matter and painfully illustrate a disturbing trend - the fact that our form of government is transforming into something that is not a republic and therefore, is not respectful of the individual. I believe that that's the important part of the OP letter and it IS important in the grand scheme of things.

Yes, life will go on, but at what cost to people?

[edit on 30/5/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

reply to post by Lasheic

First I deliberately made it soft as to give it even the slightest chance of getting to print.

Second, I am older than you think.

Third, What are you suggesting, that we just sit back and watch the world we are leaving to our children turn to dung?

If this makes it to print in just 2 papers and just one person in each town wakes up, I have accomplished more than most people.

Think about that. If everyone who sees that something is wrong can wake up just 2 people our numbers have doubled.

If I had went into a history lesson and told them that this started with the realignment amendments, and went on to discuss everything that I personally know of (which I am sure is just the tip of the iceberg); do you think it would even have a 1% chance of making it in any paper other than perhaps something Alex Jones was the editor of? If you want to be heard my friend, you have to say something that people will listen to.

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


I like your personal quote from Patton. It reminds me of a quote from Thomas Jefferson; "One man with courage, is a majority."


[edit on 5/30/2009 by DarrylGalasso]

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


Our Republic was already destroyed by FDR in the '30's. He is one of the first of these progressives to coddle the Marxist progressives of Europe after the Russian Revolution. Many of Lenin's and Trotsky's accolites where invited to his personal functions and those that he drew around him for his advisers where admirers of the Socialist cause of Wealth Redistribution.
For the whole history of his attacks on American freedom and the consolidating of a powerful central government, read 'The Forgotten man' by Amity Schlaes. Everything that Obama is doing was first tried by FDR who layed the ground work for what Obama has managed to do in a little over 100 days in office.

Zindo