To the editor:
Traditionally in America, each generation has worked hard to allow the next generation to live better and have more opportunities and resources than their parents and grandparents. Sadly, this tradition, for many families is endangered. Political decisions, international corporate decisions, and an apathetic American public are dooming the following generations’ lifestyles to being lower than we present Americans enjoy. President Bush has sided with an international court decisions setting an awful precedent of relinquishing U.S. sovereignty which, when joined with the various “free trade” treaties, endangers our trade, commerce, and economic rights. The World Trade Organization and the various regional free trade organizations have ideas about pricing and trade rules that can cripple our economy. The once vaunted American industrial society and our envied economy is crumbling and is being sold to foreign interests.
We have lost the majority of heavy industry jobs to lower quality, lower priced overseas industries. Recently, many service jobs have migrated to Asian nations. Our high quality work force has, in large measure, been relegated to low wage, lower skill, dead end jobs. Labor Department statistics have tried to spin employment figures by highlighting job expansion; however, they fail to point out the massive number of people who have lost high wage jobs only to have to replace them with two or more low wage jobs. Our children have few good employment opportunities to plan for and they can see little security in what choices remain.
Most people, including our elected officials, know that education is the key to long term and upward mobility employment success. Yet Pell Grant money annually gets cut; the number of schools failing to meet basic competency standards rises; and the percentage of college freshmen requiring remedial reading, math, writing, and science courses rises as well. School shootings, stabbings, and mayhem is on the rise. Teacher arrested for having sex with students increases. Textbooks in many elementary, middle, and high schools can best be describes as outdated, and pathetically politically correct. Many school buildings are dilapidated. High school dropout rates are on the rise in most states. With our education in such poor shape, we are selling our children out. Their futures are gravely endangered.
Our government has seen fit to be a free wheeling gift giver to the world when our domestic infrastructure needs lay fallow. We offer great sums to Sudan when African nations with great wealth in diamonds, gold, tin, and tourism dollars offer a pittance. We seem too willing to give to others and incapable to help our own. We have an alarming number of homeless people and a shocking and pathetic number of people imprisoned. The next generation will inherit a nation decaying from within with airports, highways, electrical grids, dams, bridges and tunnels, and ports in desperate needs of repair and upgrading. These will cost enormous sums of money.
Unless we as citizens act promptly, and we elect new leaders who can and will work to change to present gloomy forecast, our future generations face a bleak future.
The younger generation is too young to help their future and if little or nothing changes quickly to give them a chance, their futures will have been sold out before they get to adulthood.
Presque Isle
