Reply #18: One hesitates to say, "Think of the Children" [View All]

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

But for God's sake.

I thought when I was kid and saw Nixon go down like a wounded rhinocerous that we'd once and for all settled the issue. Now I have a daughter who is about the same age as I was back in 1973, and I've got to say that for the sake of the next generation, we've got to bring about genuine campaign reforms in this country. Right now, we have a government that is bought and paid for by the highest bidder -- a recent poll showed that only six percent of Americans believe that their elected officials are acting in the best interest of the public.

Did I say, "For the children?" How's about we think about the grandparents? I have an uncle who's a veteran of World War II. Back in the day, he was a seaman in the South Pacific when his ship was (literally) blown out of the water by a kamikazee. He stayed afloat for hours, keeping alive one of the ship's officers, even though he was badly burned in the attack. When the Navy offered to send him home because of his wounds, he did something extraordinary.

He refused.

My uncle thought it wasn't right for him to be going home while there was still a war to be won. So as soon as he had mended, he put back to sea and didn't come until after VJ-Day.

Greatest Generation? Damned straight.

The point is, my uncle and his comrades didn't pay the price in blood and shattered dreams so that we can live under the type of government we have today. They deserve something better. We deserve something better.

And...yes. The children deserve something better.

Night all.