I am writing in response to Larry Tradlener’s column (Journal, Jan. 7). Being a lifelong Independent voter and a bit long in the tooth as Tradlener claims to be, his column about liberty and freedom struck me as being more of a rant against a president — who is black, by the way — rather than a straightforward look at the problems confronting our nation today. But quoting statistics does nothing to solve the problems. A common sense approach is what is necessary. At the present time we have a do-nothing Congress and we should be ashamed that we have voted these people into office and keep re-electing them simply because they belong to our party, be it Democrat or Republican.
This is not a contest between opposing teams. The politicians we send to Washington should be made aware of the consensus of the people who elected them and that it is their duty to work toward those ends and not spend so much time courting the dollar to ensure their re-election. Of course, money talks to the greedy and power-hungry much more than an election ballot by a middle class constituent who put his faith and vote in a candidate who forgot him before he took the oath of office.
We, as senior citizens, should be encouraging the younger generation to become more attuned to what is happening to our country and make their wishes known to those elected to represent them — as well as letting our own voices be heard in a spirit of union to better the nation. We gain nothing by ranting about one party or the other. We must urge our parties to work together. We have much easier access to Washington these days: e-mail, phone, even letters. Let’s use them.
Judy Brenholt
Dolores
