Letter to the editor

As the year winds down to the finish line and a new administration prepares to don the reins of power in Washington, I find myself in a melancholy mood and wondering what lies in store for us in the coming year. The economy is in shambles and terrorism goes barely contained throughout the world. Corruption in government, as personified by his 'honor' the Governor of Illinois, is described as just a continuation of a long-standing condition infesting our governing entities.. Everybody is pointing the finger of blame at everyone else and nobody is taking the rap for anything. Some of our hitherto most prestigious companies are grovelling hat in hand for bail-out money to save them from themselves, and people are losing their homes in record numbers because lending companies recklessly extended loans to those they should have known would not be able to honor them. The newly elected President is in for the mother of all challenges to make things right and nobody can reasonably expect it will be a short term one. It might not even be doable in his time in office, but at least we can hope that he and the people he chooses to carry out his mandate for change can make substantial inroads in solving the problems that beset us. No one can ever say we haven't been given a wakeup call to put aside our complacency and prejudices and rivet our attention upon those we put into office, at every level, to guide and lead us through what is becoming one of the darkest economic eras of this nations history. There must be zero tolerance for corruption and incompetency. For a time at least, we should all put aside political biases and start thinking in terms of what's best for all of us as Americans and unite in a common cause to regain our stature as a shining symbol of hope for ourselves and the world.

George Morin
Auburn, Ga.