Editor,
America is No. 1. Actually, it's No. 48, 72, 44 and 55 in the world in infant mortality rates, overall health, freedom of the press and literacy, respectively.
Due to widespread suspicion of voter fraud, more than 7,000 lawyers have been mobilized for the 2006 elections, and our election process is now subject to global scrutiny. Corruption is apparent at all levels of government and in both parties. Habeas corpus has been suspended, and torture has been approved by the Bush
administration.
Many people, unfortunately, will read the above paragraph as hearsay, or typical of the blame-America-first crowd. However, and much to the dismay of the faith-over-facts crowd, it is reality. Nearly 3,000 Americans have died to protect our freedoms and way of life and to spread democracy throughout the Middle East.
Some will say I am only pointing out the bad things or that I am slandering the U.S. But when you are sick, you do not ask the doctor to point out how nice you look or how soft your skin is. His or her job is to address what is wrong with you and to fix it. Healthy criticism of our government stems from the desire to get better, not from hatred of our troops or country. Refraining from questioning why Americans are dying and refusing to examine the entity they are protecting is not patriotism. Someone who ignores his symptoms and accuses his doctor of insulting him is sure to fall victim to disease.
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The U.S. Constitution provides an immune system for our government. When our government is sick and the symptoms are affecting our daily lives, we do not have to wait for some miracle to heal us. We the people are the
immune system. We the people are the doctors for our government. We are voters. We are the doctors, and we must confront and cure this sickness so the parasites who put self-interest over public interest, and who do not share our moral values cannot survive in a healthy government.
America is sick. We are not who we once were, and we are not who we can be. We must and can heal ourselves. We must tone our body of government and strengthen our political system so we are not susceptible to the dangers of pride and ignorance. We should live up to our frequent claims of superiority and not take them for granted. We should accept our diagnosis with grace and humility, because we know it is not terminal. We can fix our government, and we will. That is the real reason why America is No. 1.
Zac Westbrook
Daily Lobo reader
