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NORWALK, Conn. — Norwalk.DailyVoice.com accepts signed, original letters to the editor. Letters may be emailed to letters@dailyvoice.com.
To the editor:
With the completion of both conventions, the contrasts between the presidential candidates have been clearly defined. There are two distinct philosophies that each man will implement should he be elected on Nov. 6. Each will carry long-term effects that will affect our tomorrows and the environment in which our children will live their lives.
We have all witnessed the messiness of life during this four-year term and, to be honest, way before President Obama took office. We learned the joys of winning and the sorrow of losing before the economic downturn. We knew the burden of debt (some more than others), the high cost of health care, the need for a quality education and the hard work required to reach, obtain and maintain the American Dream. Yet we persevered as we do today, for what investments we make in our families, schools and communities, we know it will yield a good return, so long as we have the right steward in place.
Those who have attained wealth and high social standing are blessed. Nonetheless, we are not any less worthy of the dignity that America endows those citizens when we fall on hard times or if troubles seem persistent. Striving to overcome each obstacle or trial molds our character and produces the best of who we are and what we can or do become. If we faint in the day of adversity, then our strength is small, and that will not do, not now or ever in America. As Thomas Paine, put it, “’Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”
Therefore, our leaders must not forget who we are or where we come from. This nation was built out of nothing with an enduring hope that the mutual and general welfare, common defense and blessings of liberty would bind us together for the advantage of our posterity. It is from the bottom up that we rise, not from the trickling down of nonexistent excesses that do not reach the bottom.
Historically, our lives have been interconnected in such ways that our shared responsibility within our communities have produced a shared prosperity that everyone benefitted from in one way or another — from the settling of the colonies to the success of Brown v. Board of Education or the most recent comeback of our auto industry. Cooperation and diplomacy have been fundamental components of our democratic prosperity, which our president has consistently tried to implement during his first term.
However, the reverse is also true. When the self-interest of a few triumphs over the good of the whole, the penalties for such behavior are devastating to our country in gravely profound ways that take years to correct, as illustrated by the cause and effects of the Civil War or the unbridled desire to make a profit with no regard for the human sacrifices that would occur or the pound of flesh that would be exacted when the financial bubble finally burst.
So, the decision is yours. When the chips are down and you are looking at your coach to present a plan to win, and it isn’t easy and it pushes you to your limit, what will you do? Do you change coaches in the middle of the game, or do you set our eyes on the mark, say that last prayer and head for the finish line?
President Barack Obama has been a good coach. He has managed us through our injuries, rallied our faith in our nation’s potential and led us up the steep hill to recovery. We are better off than we were four years ago. To keep our country moving forward, please do your part by voting for President Obama and our regional Democratic delegations.
Thank you, and see you at the polls.
Comments (20)
Ken
You may not feel better off, but a lot of us feel safer and some feel safer and better off. I have no idea how old you are, but you need to communicate with younger people with graduate degrees. Most of them that I know are pretty optimistic at this point and are making plenty of money. Romney's big appeal now is to older people who are starting to feel life has passed them by and they are looking for somebody who doesn't look like them to blame it on.
ken
think about it you have time
As we all know it takes longer to fix a problem than to create it. The village idiot war criminal Republican BUSH was in office for 8 years Only a Moron would expect Obama to fix all of the screw ups of the village idiot war criminal Republican BUSH in 4 years
LOL cute, you show your intelligence level clearly by your comments & fit right in with the "gimme something for nothing" Democrats that are killing our country.
You call Bush a war criminal, again cute & enlightening about you as a person, but you ignore the fact that CONGRESS okayed both the wars & Obama was right there.
It doesnt always take longer to fix a problem than create it. Thats utter nonsense, but to be expected I guess. I'll try an analogy you might comprehend. It takes you maybe 50,000 miles to wear out a set of tires, once you get there & they are shot you toss them out & in 15 minutes have four new ones, if you are smart, OR you can act like Obama & keep driving on bald tires trying to achieve your agenda without actually doing anything meaningful and blame it on that first 50,000 miles when you have a blow out.
We need to stop looking and worrying about what the other guy did or didnt do. That only works in politics. To use the tire analogy again, Say you buy a car & the tires are bald because the previous owner never replaced them. You get in that car fully knowing the tires are shot & drive cross country, have a blow out & terrible accident, whos fault is it? Do you get to blame the guy you "inherited" it from or are you the idiot?
In that case I'd say the guy who bought the car is to blame & in our Presidents case he is to blame. He knew full well what he was getting into & he ran on promises of hope & change. But instead he lied or he failed, you pick. The result is the same either way & to support him is very silly in my opinion. :o)
republicans are criminals
the contrasts between the Mayoral candidates have been clearly defined. There are two distinct philosophies that each man will implement should he be elected . Each will carry long-term effects that will affect our tomorrows and the environment in which our children will live their lives.
Don't know why it sent three times but it is what it is.Could of used some additional inspration when Andy ran our own children here in Norwalk would of been better off.
When will the Norwalk Democrats get together on the issues that our own children in Norwalk lost on?
Norwalk needs to look at its own political powers to be and ask what side are they on,lately some of our elected officials seem to be courting the wrong party not favoring the our childrens best interest.
Some of The Democrats seem to be hiding the agenda not taking any direction from those long standing in Norwalks interest and complaints.
Now that Norwalk has two Democratic parties does that mean the vote counts twice?
Norwalk Republicans are safe for the moment the Democrats are doing a number on themselves.
Any new blood for any party continues to flow on Norwalks streets and that is not a nice picture for our children.
the contrasts between the Mayoral candidates have been clearly defined. There are two distinct philosophies that each man will implement should he be elected . Each will carry long-term effects that will affect our tomorrows and the environment in which our children will live their lives.
the contrasts between the Mayoral candidates have been clearly defined. There are two distinct philosophies that each man will implement should he be elected . Each will carry long-term effects that will affect our tomorrows and the environment in which our children will live their lives.
the contrasts between the Mayoral candidates have been clearly defined. There are two distinct philosophies that each man will implement should he be elected . Each will carry long-term effects that will affect our tomorrows and the environment in which our children will live their lives.
As we all know it takes longer to fix a problem than to create it. The village idiot war criminal Republican BUSH was in office for 8 years Only a Moron would expect Obama to fix all of the screw ups of the village idiot war criminal Republican BUSH in 4 years .
Well said, Amanda. The real choice is between two very different philosophies. The president believes we are all in this together and, if we work hard together, we can succeed.
The other side represents a much smaller, self centered group who seek only to line their pockets and leave the bill for the rest of us to pay. Their hero was Reagan who campaigned on what he was going to do to cut the debt and then let it triple while he was in office. We should not fall for their BS this time.
GREAT Post Old Timer
Just curious OT, how has the Democratic party & its monopoly on CT helped us in recent history? CT has the very same problems the federal govt has yet it hasnt had any real conservative input in decades. At any rate the sad reality is its not really two very different philosophies anymore. Both major parties are far too liberal once we get beyond the talking points and our current trend towards financial irresponsibility and ignoring the grave reality of our situation is the result.
You mention Reagan who said he'd cut spending but tripled it as if its a bad thing, but isnt the exact same thing true of Obama?
At any rate if we want to get the economy moving we need to get him out of there. He makes wealthy people afraid to make money whereas Romney will make them feel safer & spend. We dont need to tax the wealthy, we need them to invest willingly in America and they never will while a tax & spen liberal is in office.
Ken
Just curious OT, how has the Republican criminal party & its monopoly on CT helped us in recent history?
It hasnt Niikk, because it cant, we are squarely under the thumb of the Democratic party in CT & have been for some time. Not sure why you would call the republicans criminals. I'd be willing to bet that most of Norwalks criminals are Democrats.
That's two questions. The Debt has gone up during the president's first term, but, even though he inherited a terrible recession, it only went up by a small percentage, compared to tripling in eight years, and insignificant to how much it increased under George W. Bush, with his tax breaks for the wealthy coupled with the cost of wars in Irag and Afghanistan.
The other question/statement about Connecticut is something else. and is not really a question. A big part of the State problem has been the result of stalling for years on adopting accepted accounting practice so nobody ever knew how much money was coming in or going out. The present administration has finally fixed that and is working, for the first time, on true balanced budgets.
As for wealthy people afraid to make money, you're not serious, are you ?
The wealthy people I know are always looking for ways to make more without paying more taxes and are doing pretty well. Nothing stops them, but, of course, they always look for whatever tax break or incentive they can get.
The debt has gone up more under Obama in 3 years than it did under Bush in 8 or anybody before him.
Blaming our states financial issues on anything but liberal policies is silly. The very concept of spending money before you know how much you have is liberal in nature. How has Malloy finally "fixed that" I was just reading how despite all his tax increases we are still spending more than we bring in.
You miss my point. Of course they are still making money, but they arent investing HERE like they would be if wealth wasnt something to be punished for and theyre not making money like they would be under a less ominous administrative cloud.
Of course they also look for tax breaks (dont we all?) but they arent building houses & they arent investing in developments, arent backing new endeavors etc. Hurting them hurts the economy & all of us. They dont truly NEED to make money & since they are taxed on income the less they make the less they pay & the MORE the rest of us need to contribute. We do much better by leaving them alone & letting them spend. Its eaqsy to forget but when they spend money on things they spend it on things WE, the middle class, provide.
That is not true. The debt under Obama has gone up in his first three years, but the first year he was dealing with Bush's budget. If he is re-elected, then we will have a fair basis for comparison. He has been instrumental in bringing back a lot of manufacturing jobs, saving thousands of auto industry jobs, getting Bin Laden, and preventing any useful succession in Alquida.
The people with money are building homes and buying yachts here. Take a ride around New Canaan, Westport, Weston, & Darien. They are not spending the way they were before the recession, but they are spending a lot more freely than they were two years ago. Many are establishing legal residence in States that do not tax income, but that is a state problem and hard to blame on the president. I know of a very wealthy man with homes in several states who found his cell phone records were being checked by CT tax people trying to prove he didn't spend more than six months in Florida so they could tax his income in CT. We should consider eliminating CT income tax, or cutting back on it.
Ken P I agree 100% with you. Almost 4 years later obabma is STILL blaming Bush!
Obama has been a good talker but not a good coach. A good coach knows when he has led his team astray or asked more than they can provide. A good coach when he says "If I dont whip things into shape in 3 years I'm done" will admit failure if he fails & work towards fixing that, not claim victory when his team is still spiraling downwards. Its not just Obama, its the liberal Democrat machine thats ruining not just the country but the state of CT as well.
I'm not better off than I was 4 years ago & dont think many of us can honestly say we are, thats meaningless hyperbole.
If we admit that things are tough going & in need of improvement why throw in with a man who has never had to face adversity? A man whos success was bought & paid for & who made his living milking taxpayers? A man who never built or made anything for & by himself? A man who even as President cannot make a positive difference for the working class? Why not support a man who has created many thousands of jobs, a man who understands & has overcome adversity, a man who has built things that not only lifted him up but also supported thousands of Americans. It seems simple, we can support Obama & ensure we can get welfare & other govt help, until we run out of wealthy people to steal from, or we can support Mitt Romney and ensure that jobs are created & that the wealthy start investing in America again. Romney, the guy who served without collecting a check in MA. Has Obama EVER served in a tax payer funded position & not taken compensation for it? To obama politics is just a job, to Romney its a chance to make a difference.
To keep our country stuck in the muck support Obama, to move forward & regain our place in the world support Romney.