Letter to the Editor: America is not dead or doomed

Editor:

Since Barack Obama won reelection and Republicans failed to take control of the Senate, I have been reading comments such as, "America is dead," and "America is doomed."

America is not dead, or doomed. Though many who voted for the president, and other Democrats, may believe she has avoided doom, I believe that in many ways she has suffered some serious setbacks, but she is not dead or doomed.

America is a survivor. She has survived numerous crises in her time, and she will survive now. The election returned the government to the same status quo of tax and spend, and trampling the Constitution and morality, which can only hurt, not help to solve the mess we are in.

But, the election is past. It is time to move on. What we need to do now is flood our elected officials with posts, Facebook messages, tweets, letters, etc. telling them that the tax and spend must end. The serious matter of the "fiscal cliff" and "sequestration" are beginning to be addressed in Washington. Write your representatives and urge them to cut unnecessary spending and not raise taxes.

For example, urge them to adopt Congressman Paul Ryan's plan which will cut $2.5 trillion over 10 years, and does not include cuts from Social Security or the military. Other cuts will be necessary, but these should be at the top of the list.

Many senior citizens are barely able to survive as it is and cannot afford any cuts to their Social Security income. Military spending must not be cut for the sake of the nation's security, and the jobs of thousands of military personnel. Further, urge them to adopt Ryan's Medicare reform proposals. This proposal was much maligned and mischaracterized during the election, but it protects Medicare for those reaching retirement age in the future without changing it for those under it now or the near future.

Cuts are always painful. But they must be made. This is a serious matter and our representatives must give it serious attention. Write your representatives and urge them to do so.

L. John Bost, Strasburg