PERSPECTIVE

American dream is being uprooted

By RUSSELL W. PETERSON

03/20/2005

The dream of people everywhere is to have the opportunity to climb the ladder to a better tomorrow. But today many at lower and middle income levels are going backward. Lack of integrity at the highest levels in business and government dampen that dream.

The federal government pursues a policy of cutting taxes, starving government of funds necessary for social programs. Extreme tax cutting underpins irresponsible fiscal management, leading to the highest deficit in U.S. history - debt our kids will need to pay.

Privileged treatment of the wealthy has led to the widest disparity between the rich and other Americans since the 1920s. Attempts to privatize Social Security threatens old age security.

The United States is No. 1 in the world for incarceration of citizens.

We speak of peace but send our youth to war on false premises. Fanning the fear of terrorism has led to the USA Patriot Act, eroding basic freedoms. Misrepresenting reasons for invading Iraq, dropping out of international agreements and belittling the United Nations have converted love for America into widespread hatred.

Placing the president above the law and authorizing him to deny basic human rights to enemy detainees has led to torture, earning global condemnation.

Our bedrock principles of freedom of religion and separation of church and state are threatened by government faith-based initiatives and religious leaders' condemnation of those who do not share their faith.

We need to hold George W. Bush, his administration and far-right cohorts in Congress accountable. Big business, big political contributors, big polluters and big militarists cheer them on.

Deception has always been a despicable tool of the political game. But now it has grown in usage, intensity and incivility to the point that it threatens the foundation of our democracy. Today, many Americans vote for or against candidates and issues that have been defined as something they are not. Registering voters and getting them to the polls are not enough if they then vote on false premises.

The downgrading of environmental protection is a special area of deep concern. The quality of our lives is fundamentally related to the quality of the environment. All major religions recognize that, and call upon their members to be good stewards of the earth, God's creation. For 30 years Americans worked together and made good progress in that mission.

But with the advent of the Bush administration, the laws, regulations and institutions that made progress possible came under assault. Rather than serving as stewards of our natural heritage, they turned over federal offices to political allies recruited from industries whose businesses exploit resources.

The nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters gave this president a big red F, the first time a president ever received such a dreadful grade. His fellow right-wing Republicans in Congress were graded similarly. In 2004, Republicans voted favorably on environmental issues only 9 percent of the time, while Democrats did so 86 percent of the time. And 144 Republicans scored zero.

Only one Democrat did (Zell Miller, a keynote speaker at the Republican convention.)

Not a single Republican scored 100 percent, while 118 Democrats did.

One of the most worrisome threats to life on Earth is global warming from emissions of greenhouse gases. Scientists worldwide tell us so. The United Nations-sponsored Kyoto Protocol that requires nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases went into effect on Feb. 16. The United States, the world's biggest contributor to the problem, refused to join.

It is time for all Americans - Republicans, Democrats and independents - to change the direction we are going, and help build a future that offers our kids the American dream.

Former Delaware Gov. Russell W. Peterson lives in Greenville.