Friday, May 16, 2008
"[G]overnment gets its strength from the people, not the other way around."
The Wall Street Journal has the best letters-to-the-editor section of any U.S. newspaper. The WSJ's editors refuse to publish pretentious/elitist drivel like you see in the New York Times; and you will never - ever - have to read the kind of emotion-over-substance claptrap that you find at the tail-end of The Tennessean's section "A."
The following letter from a Mr. Gary Jones, who hails from Bevidere, Illinois not only proves my theory about the quality of the Journal's letters section, it goes a long way toward proving that Journal-readers are the smartest in the land ...
"Regarding Zachary Karabell's 'Who Stole the American Spirit? (op-ed, May 14): I love Pogo's famous statement 'We have met the enemy and he is us!' Most of us just don't seem to be able or willing to connect our bad choices with our problems. Even though it has been proven time and again that government is counterproductive, even dangerous, when it comes to dealing with economic problems we continue to hold our elected officials responsible every time the economy slides.
"The addiction to government remedies gives consumers the illusion of strength while actually rendering them weaker. Like an addict coming down from a government-induced high, many Americans are depressed and their self-confidence has been impaired. Are we going to kick the habit? It seems that we may need a near-death experience to provide adequate incentive.
"'Who stole the American spirit?' -- No one! Many Americans have chosen to abandoned it in favor of blind faith in government solutions. They seem to have forgotten that the government gets its strength from the people, not the other way around."
The following letter from a Mr. Gary Jones, who hails from Bevidere, Illinois not only proves my theory about the quality of the Journal's letters section, it goes a long way toward proving that Journal-readers are the smartest in the land ...
"Regarding Zachary Karabell's 'Who Stole the American Spirit? (op-ed, May 14): I love Pogo's famous statement 'We have met the enemy and he is us!' Most of us just don't seem to be able or willing to connect our bad choices with our problems. Even though it has been proven time and again that government is counterproductive, even dangerous, when it comes to dealing with economic problems we continue to hold our elected officials responsible every time the economy slides.
"The addiction to government remedies gives consumers the illusion of strength while actually rendering them weaker. Like an addict coming down from a government-induced high, many Americans are depressed and their self-confidence has been impaired. Are we going to kick the habit? It seems that we may need a near-death experience to provide adequate incentive.
"'Who stole the American spirit?' -- No one! Many Americans have chosen to abandoned it in favor of blind faith in government solutions. They seem to have forgotten that the government gets its strength from the people, not the other way around."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Friday, May 16, 2008 
