An Open Letter to the United States Congress from a concerned citizen

I am, by any standard, an American. My ancestors fought with George Washington at Valley Forge, stood proudly with both the North and the South during the Civil War, served in both World Wars and, at every turn, have unwaveringly supported the tactics and tenets of this great Nation. Patriotism and loyalty to country are deeply ingrained in my line – my gratitude to the men and women who gave their lives for my freedom is immeasurable.

With this history, it is nearly implausible to me that I find it necessary to write this letter.

I represent the Silent Majority, the mainstream American citizen who has found it increasingly difficult to remain silent, and who can no longer bear to passively allow the behaviors of our representative government to go unchecked without speaking my mind. It appears that a reminder is needed, that the purpose of your appointment has been forgotten, that the tremendous responsibility which rests upon your shoulders has been cast callously aside for personal interest and political gain. I implore you to read my words, and, much more importantly, to comprehend their gravity and correct our course before this great Nation is lost.

You are a Public Servant. Your first responsibility is to represent the interests of your constituents to the best of your ability. You do not work for a special interest group, a lobbyist, or personal gain. You are no more accountable to a wealthy and influential voter than to a homeless child. Your personal feelings, beliefs and morals are irrelevant – when you accepted your position you agreed to sacrifice your own desires for the greater good. It is not your job to judge those you serve or those with whom you serve. It is your duty to put others first, to forfeit your own wishes, if necessary, to best represent those who appointed you their trusted servant.

It is not in the best interest of your citizens to watch your histrionic posturing for the news cameras. We are not impressed by your ability to impede progress on every front. We do not appreciate your pomposity and bravado – we do not applaud your willingness to squander our hard earned wages with complete disregard. We voted for you, hired you, if you will, because we believed you were equal to the task. We gave you our collective voice and trusted you to use it not to defame, but to uplift; not to encumber, but to facilitate. You are failing us. This is your annual review, and your performance is abysmal.

The threats we face in today’s global climate are entirely too real and horrific to be overlooked for a single second. As a nation, we are the target of intense animosity from every corner of the globe. There are real dragons for you to slay – it is not necessary for you to battle your fellow elected officials in an attempt to gain our admiration and respect.

We are in desperate need of leadership – honest, cooperative, selfless leadership from a body of people more concerned with the fate of their nation than their personal chances for re-election. We have thirsted so long for persons of action, for leaders who make a difference, for someone to give us hope.

The decline of our society is apparent at every turn. Children kill other children or, worse, are slain by their own parents. Drugs, alcohol, poverty and depravity are fixtures on the evening news. Bigotry and racism, though no longer blatant in day to day existence for most of us, still worm their way through our lives, all too often used as political ploys by your members. As a people, we are losing our desire to willingly help others because our elected officials have their hands deep in our pockets, redistributing our wealth to suit their whims, leaving us in doubt of our ability to survive. The example being set for us is one of conflict and corruption, not cooperation, and the message you send is not making us better but draining us of our will to better ourselves.

We implore you to use your powers of reason not to find new and inventive ways to thwart those across the aisle, but to restore our Nation to its former glory. We beg you to apply the creativity you exhibit in so many negative and immoral ways to reducing the national debt, improving our security, and restoring our pride in our country. Please, before it is too late, remember your responsibilities and those you serve – show us that our faith in you wasn’t misplaced. Allow us, once again, to be proud to be Americans.