Letter
to the Newly Elected Congress
by Herb Gerjouy
(Jan. 2007)
Americans
have, for the most part, been a generous people. We respect unselfishness,
not selfishness. We have a long and strong tradition of sacrifice for
the sake of a better life for our descendants.
I
think that Democrats should draw on that American tradition of unselfishness
and readiness to sacrifice. I hope Democrats will speak frankly to their
fellow
Americans about the difficulties ahead, for instance: in Iraq, in dealing
with global warming, in dealing with exhaustion of supplies of cheap hydrocarbon
fuel,
in dealing with irrational hatred and intolerance in many parts of the
world among people of many different religions and ethnicities.
When
Americans see clearly the challenges we all face, I am confident that
the majority of the good, generous, sensible American people will willingly
accept the need for sacrifice in the near term so that our children and
grandchildren will live in a better, more peaceful, more healthful world.
I am confident Americans will be willing to consider such sacrifices as:
paying reparations to the Iraqi people (which
would doubtless cost us a small fraction of what continuing the war would
cost); using smaller, less powerful automobiles, and relying more on mass
transit; allocating a larger portion of our tax dollars for health care
for the poorest and least able among us; allocating more funds for research
that will benefit future generations even if the research will ot directly
help solve short-term problems.
By
reminding Americans that we are a good people, we will help make America
a better country and help remind the world that, no matter how selfish
or short-sighted recent American policy may seem, the rest of the world
can continue to count on America to be a good neighbor and an examplar
of all that is best in the human spirit.
