Letter to the Editor: America in My Dreams

*The following "Letter to the Editor" is in response to the

The America of my dreams is one in which fairness, justice, and equality truly exist.  In such a world, when Wall Street over-leverages itself 35 to 1, average middle class wages would not decline 1.3 percent while Wall Street bonuses surge 19.7 percent in the same year and CEOs of the 350 largest companies (38 percent of which paid no taxes) see increases in income of 11 percent.  They would not get to take the money out of our pockets twice – first when they handed us their bill for gambling at the end of Bush’s term and now when they are paying themselves more while telling their employees that they can’t afford a living wage for them.  In a fair world, I would not pay a greater percentage in taxes than many billionaires, but I do. 

In that world, people of color would not suffer from three times the unemployment rate compared to the  rate for those of us who are white.  You can call corporations people all you want but the true power of a nation will always rest with folks like you and me.

In the America of my dreams we would understand that government works for the common good, because when we work together for the welfare of our communities, we all benefit.  I want food that is safe to eat, water that is clean, travel over roads and bridges in good repair, banks that play by the rules, and the right to vote without being threatened with job loss should I not vote the corporate way. 

The impending hurricane is a food for thought: there will be damages because of the ravages of nature.  In my dream, we help each other recover from the unforeseen disaster instead of squealing “If you didn’t save for it, you didn’t earn any help”.  I would expect my government to provide a helping hand.

In this America, no child would go without food, shelter, education or health care because a cold-hearted power group disavows any responsibility for them.

In my dream, my government would not spy on us, torture our enemies, imprison people without a trial, and lie to us about why it is necessary to put the lives of young men and women at risk.

And finally I would be free – free to vote without paying a fee or taking a test; free to sell Girl Scout cookies door-to-door without being fingerprinted if I cross a city line; free to wear a T-shirt that says “one nation, indivisible” without being hauled out of a public meeting (as happened this year in Florida) because the T-shirt did not ascribe national favoritism to a deity with the words “under God”.

We’re not there yet, but at least there are letters to the editor.

Jeanne Dyer, (speaking as an individual), Foxboro