Call Us to Sacrifice, Not Spend

Please, Mr. President, don’t ask me to go back to my life as usual. Don’t ask me to take a trip to Disney World or tour New York City to gawk at the ruins of the World Trade Center, where so many of my fellow citizens lost their lives. Please don’t give me a tax cut when so many are unemployed and need the help of the government, when security personnel need decent pay, when so much sorrow and destruction have hit our nation--when billions of dollars are needed to rebuild and offer assistance to those in need.

Tell me, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt did, that I need to make sacrifices--to save scrap metal, to start a victory garden. Or tell me, as John F. Kennedy did, “ ... ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” I don’t want to enjoy life as I once did--not until this is over and all Americans are safe from terrorist attac ks. Only then can I return to my “usual” way of life.

Louise Goodman

La Jolla

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“How Didn’t They Die in Vain?” (Voices, Oct. 6) is a good example of the way many liberals are putting the government in a double bind in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Jean Desmond blasts the “damage” to our freedom that results from security measures like preventing private vehicles from entering airports and grounding private planes “in the name of security,” but then she goes on to voice her anger at the government for “allowing” the terrorist attacks to occur in the first place. In other words, blame the government for “allowing” the attacks to occur and then blame the government for trying to take steps to prevent future attacks.

If Desmond feels that tightened airport security is “damaging” to her freedoms, she must be ready to accept the consequences (namely, more terrorist attacks). To blame the government for lax security and then to blame it for tight security displays a desire to blame the government without rhyme or reason, and that kind of thinking can’t possibly be helpful as we try to deal with this unprecedented tragedy.

Sonja Stein

Los Angeles

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Now that a wave of patriotism is sweeping over our country, perhaps it’s a good time to discard the labels that separate us. When asked what you are, say, “I’m an American,” not Italian American, African American, Mexican American, etc.

United we stand--as Americans!

Ray Uhler

Tustin Ranch

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I did not vote for George W. Bush. I confess to feeling somewhat cheated by an election where the plurality vote was ignored and reluctantly accepted the results because that is our electoral process.

It is not obvious that Al Gore would have risen to this new challenge. I like to think he would have. However, it is clear that President Bush has. He has proved to be a strong, focused and clear-thinking leader. He and his administration deserve our support during the difficult months and years ahead.

John Kolin

Rancho Palos Verdes

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I’m still laughing after reading the Oct. 9 letters regarding David Corn’s comparison of Tony Blair and George Bush. I’m laughing because two of the four letters used Corn’s article as an excuse to bash former President Clinton and his oratorical skills. Why do these folks think that beating up on a former president builds national unity and helps to accomplish national goals? Give it a rest, folks.

Jay Stevens

Long Beach

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In “Invulnerable Assumptions” (editorial, Oct. 8) you ask how such “high-octane evil” could “exist here without notice.” That’s easy. Many things good, bad and indifferent exist without notice. In some cases, this is because it would be deemed impolitic, or worse, to notice them, while in other cases it is because what would be “noticed” would be mere possibility, and therefore it would be illogical to notice it.

In this particular case, any noticing would have been called bigotry, isolationism, etc., and any noticing would have forced us to take seriously ideas that we should adopt inconvenient defense measures. If time passes without any further attacks, I would expect both those reasons to return in nearly full force.

William F. Magaletta

La Puente

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Recently I saw a photo of a protestor at the Federal Building in Westwood carrying a sign that read, “CIA, what assets are we going to war for?” I believe those assets would be life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Rich Siegel

Culver City