Letter to the editor

We are witnessing some pretty scary weather scenarios these days and we probably haven't seen anything yet. While we are well aware of the havoc mother nature can wreak on her own, we are beginning to suspect that she is nevertheless getting plenty of help from us. Between the flooding, the tornadoes, the earthquakes and hurricanes, the likes of which we've seldom, if ever, seen, we're having to evaluate our level of responsibility and we need to do it now. The flooding in Iowa for example may not have been so devastating if the levies had held and kept the raging Mississippi river from overflowing its banks. The infrastructure nationwide is falling apart. Dams are collapsing along with bridges just about everywhere and the spectre of the horror that hurricane Katrina dealt New Orleans and parts of Mississippi is fresh in our minds. The poorly constructed dikes in New Orleans will probably fail again if another category three or four hurricane should come its way. The billions or trillions of dollars needed to repair and up-grade our infrastructure are pre-occupied at the moment and we know where, don't we? While we are squandering our resources, along with our manpower, in foreign lands on 'missions impossible' and in some cases, unjustifiable, our own country is coming apart at the seams. We may not be able to totally stem the fury of mother nature, but we can brunt the extent of its damage by strengthening and rebuilding the infrastructure that keeps us safe.We had better do it soon and start putting our interests and our money front and center where it belongs, right here at home. Don't look for help from those whose interests we've been putting before our own. It will never happen

George Morin
Auburn, Ga.