This is a letter written by a young man who see's very clearly the disasterous policies of Bush and the republicans. I am proud to print this letter and proud that there are young Americans out there who understand and demand change.
April 24, 2006
Dear Honorary President,
How can a leader truly represent the people when he does not live like
them? Those in office do not send their children to public schools,
where ‘No Child Left Behind’ has devastated the educational system.
Those in office do not dare to walk amongst the streets of the ghetto,
where their help is needed the most. Those in office don’t dare do
anything more than act as if they wish to help the people. If those who
had the power to truly make a difference cared, they would walk amongst
those who needed help as Mahatma Gandhi and other brilliant leaders have.
The government has taxed the middle and lower classes into despair,
while cutting those who need not fear taxes a tax break. Why does the
government not lower taxes for the lower classes, and raise taxes for
millionaires, and billionaires, of our nation? The owners of oil
companies have made more money in a quarter of a year than any other
company has in an entire year. These people have money to spare, yet
share none of it. Actors, singers, and professional sports players make
millions a day. It is they who should carry the heaviest burden, not
those whom cannot bear the weight.
Same sex marriages are being banned in multiple states; however, this
too is a removal of the rights of the American people. The reason for
the law forbidding same sex marriage is based on the bible, which states
that a man and a woman is the only marriage. However, the First
Amendment declares that; “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion”, which states that no law based on a
religious teaching can be imposed upon the American People. In light of
this argument, any law forbidding the marriage between two people of the
same sex would be unconstitutional.
The Patriot Act has been put in place for the purpose of legally
stripping away the rights of the American people, and therefore should
never have been passed. The Fourth Amendment clearly states that a
person’s right to privacy cannot be infringed upon unless given a
warrant by a neutral judge. No records on a civilian may be searched,
nor may a warrant be issued, without probable cause. Instead of simply
saying that a civilian is believed to be part of a terrorist group,
sufficient evidence should be required before a warrant is issued, or a
search takes place. The Patriot Act grants the power to the government
to grant a warrant for physical searches, wiretaps, and subpoenas of
business records as long as the government states that there is any
foreign intelligence basis for the search. Once again, evidence should
be required that foreign intelligence is present other than the
government’s word, when the government is run by humans, and humans are
liable to lie.
Gas prices are ravaging the ordinary citizen as the prices per gallon
breaks the three-dollar mark. The price of oil is to blame, however, has
the government considered finding an alternate to oil to relieve some of
the pressure of the rising prices? Brazil, South Americas largest
country, provides 40% of it’s own energy via sugar cane; which in turn
drives the average price for gasoline down to a much more reasonable two
dollars a gallon. The United States could quite possibly tap this energy
source as well, as scientific advances in the field of agriculture could
produce large amounts of sugar cane in nearly any environment. The farms
could tackle the issue of energy prices by providing yet another cheap
energy source, as well as provide possibly hundreds of thousands of jobs
to decrease the unemployment rate in America. A simple solution though
it may be, it would appear to be quite an effective solution.
No Child Left Behind was based on scientific research on what methods
work best. What has not been noted is that there is no ‘best’ method,
for no two minds think exactly alike. While ‘No Child Left Behind’ may
help one group of students, others are left behind still yet. As well as
thinking in different ways, minds can grasp different amounts of
material at different speeds. Some gifted students may learn at a much
more accelerated rate while others will take a longer amount of time to
grasp the material presented. If a teacher presents the material too
quickly, the gifted students will be able to keep up while the rest of
the students fall behind and give up. On the other hand, should a
teacher present the material too slowly, the advanced students will
quickly become bored and may decide that school is not worth their time.
Recent research has shown that 30% of High School Students will drop
out, and of those most have passing grades. Why would they drop out most
ask, only for them to respond, “School was too boring.” This could be a
sign that either they didn’t care enough, or that the system failed them
in which most cases the latter holds true. Our government spends 20% of
its national budget on our military, yet we spend less than 4% on our
education. In this time of crisis, a large budget is needed for our
military, yet is the nation’s youth, the future of the United States,
really only worth 4% of our nation’s budget? With more money, schools
could hire a more diverse selection of teachers, and spend more time
with finding a student’s specific needs and matching them with a teacher
who would yield greater results when educating this student. Our
nation’s education system is far from perfect, and ‘No Child Left
Behind’ has not made matters any better. Take this from a student who
lives with the effects of ‘No Child Left Behind’ every day.
The reasons behind the lawsuits that are taking place against the state
and federal governments are the high standards set for the schools are
unrealistic. The "No Child Left Behind" was put into place to prevent
students from being forced into being educated in a mediocre school,
however even top notch schools are suffering as students who do not
grasp the material that is being presented are advanced, where they are
in turn failed later on for not knowing what they never understood
properly. This reflects poorly on the school, which is then punished for
something that was not their fault. The system put in place by "No Child
Left Behind" has set every school in our nation up for failure.
I may be a single mind, but I am no fool. For every thought I share with
you is shared by thousands of American citizens. If you are to ignore
the mind of a single citizen, does this mean you ignore the thoughts of
hundreds of thousands as well? In order to truly lead our wonderful
Nation, you must walk in the shoes of the nation’s people. You must
truly listen to the people; get to know them and how your laws and taxes
affect them. Until the government lives with, lives like, and lives for
it’s people, the people will suffer as those in power live oblivious to
the horrors that grasp at our beautiful nation.
“You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and
decrees.
An evil system never deserves such allegiance.
Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil.
A good person will resist an evil system with his or her whole soul.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
(Thanks Kharyn)
(Thanks Kharyn)
No comments:
Post a Comment