LETTERS: Paper tiger
To the Editor:
The sleeping giant mentioned in last week's leading editorial isn't a sleeping giant anymore. He's a paper tiger.
When we were young as a nation, we had respect and fear of our conscience as it revealed right and wrong, and revealed that productivity created goods. If you wanted to achieve anything, you had to earn it.
In time, as we lived in the benefits of that mindset, we gave ourselves the credit: "Look what we have done." We became self-indulgent. As a result, we have become a divided and self-righteous nation, one against another.
Our strength has been eroded. Because we don't acknowledge our nature, we will sleep away to nothing.
Not once since 9-11 have we as a nation acknowledged our failures. We arrogantly proclaim, "God bless America!" We think self-indulgence is a virtue.
But the principle still remains: United we stand, divided we fall. In every society, when we forget what made us great, we consume away to nothing.
How can we expect to be victorious over the enemy when the enemy is us?
Jerry Plett
Lincolnville
