Night in and night out I go home and watch the evening news and listen to the political talk shows and come away with the feeling that most Americans believe that their government is the enemy, the bad guy, the reason our economy is in the dumps. They believe government cannot be trusted, nor the elected officials who represent us.
Candidates running for office talk about reducing the role of government in our lives by eliminating such agencies as the Environmental Protection Agency and agencies that oversee drug companies and the oil companies. The political parties have no interest in working together, only in blaming the other side. People hold town meetings to yell at and abuse our elected leaders. They say our President is not a real American.
This is not the America I was born in and which has provided me the opportunity for a full and meaningful life. This is not the America that our greatest generation fought for on the beaches in the Pacific and across continent of Europe. This is not the America I have learned to love and spent my life trying to make it better by serving in my communities local government as a city council member and then as a mayor.
I do believe we need laws to protect us from those who would take unfair advantage of our citizens, I believe we need to help those who are most needy, and that we need to build infrastructure that that provides transportation options and economic growth. We through our government must assure that our water and our air is clean, our streets are safe, and health care is available to our seniors and our most vulnerable. We must provide an education system that allows everyone an opportunity to attain a good life and we must through our research reach for new solutions to our challenges.
Only through representative government can we achieve these things and provide a quality life for our citizens. I believe this with all my heart. We are the government, we need to work together, trust each other, and make it better.
