For the love of our country

To the editor: In response to recent letters regarding the war in Iraq, I would like to agree that America is indeed a good place to live. I value freedom of speech and religion, and one of my core beliefs is our country’s strength and ability to right itself when it has gone down the wrong path. The letters raise several questions for me, however. First, I wonder if America is kept safe primarily by its troops. Not since World War II has our nation been attacked by another nation, yet various administrations have sent our military into other countries, putting our own citizens at risk and creating resentment or outright hatred. Is military action always the best strategy? Osama bin Laden has not yet been brought to justice, and Islamic militancy is rising in response to our escalation of the tension in the Middle East. I do not want our troops put into unnecessary dangers and ambiguous situations they were not trained for (the peace keeping and nation building that so far have failed). Those interested in how some veterans are responding to this question may want to visit the web site of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America at www.iavapac.org/principles.html. I also could not agree more that “America is as great as its leaders who govern with vision,” and there are many I admire for this, but I wonder what vision is shown by our current leaders, whose plans for Iraq did not take into account the political and religious tensions in that troubled country. Finally, where is the rosy economic future for America? Illiteracy is on the rise, Americans are losing their pensions, the employment rate does not count those unemployed so long that they no longer look for work, and poverty levels have not decreased, but are rising. (We can’t count the increasing wealth of already wealthy people as part of the average income and come up with an accurate picture). Real wages for middle class Americans have been shrinking for years. Acknowledging these issues is the first step to taking some action to remedy them. Criticism is not unhealthy, but necessary. And those of us who want to know the truth, not just the good parts, love our country as much as those we disagree with. Mary Makofske Warwick