Web Letters: Moyers & FDR

Moyers has hit on a terrific vein of American traditions, i.e., that there is actually a shared project that can be resumed if the will is there. Such has been the riotously calamitous era of Bush Jr. that we have lost all sight of anything like a vision of government as helping and cooperative. Roosevelt, when it was required, declared a war on poverty and unemployment, and changed lives during the dark days of the Depression. His was a hopefully alive American idea of possibility for everyone, not just the few. The talk was a good balm for those of us who still hold the USA as a realm where friendship, and a correspondence of Americans working for the common good, is of a piece with the heart of the country's best traditions.

W.D. Pearlman
Rough Road Review

Placitas, NM

Joe Narof: your kind of pointless, mean and ignorant commentary suggests that only a curse-term-eliminating robot scans these posts for content. Too bad, a fair-minded teen breathing a bag of fresh-sprayed Rust-O-leum would have tossed your note into the gutter.

Moyer's work on TV is indeed soft-minded, embarrassing drivel. But you don't know him personally, so your personal attack rings hollow. Needless to say, you are jealous!

Chris Kent

Portsmouth, NH

Amen for men like Bill Moyers and his father.

I too was raised by a father who struggled year in and year out to keep his job as a salesman working for companies who did not want to keep people on because it meant paying them more. He worked hard and continues to work hard to provide for his family.

Bill Moyers has spent his life speaking for the average American citizen who works and works hard.

The law of the stock market (private enterprise) is to grow and grow and grow regardless to the impact on workers or the environment. The average worker and the environment need a friend in the White House. In fact, stockholders and business owners need the same friend in the White House. Regulation means that everyone has to play by the same rules so that doing the right thing for the worker and for the environment is necessary--not just a choice. Educated, informed citizens practicing democracy are the most capable of ensuring that government regulation is fair and works for the average citizen.

Thank you to Bill Moyers. Let's hope his dream of renewing the spirit of FDR in the White House comes true. At this point, I think Barack Obama may have the best ability to do just that.

Thomas Carlson

Rockville, MD

FDR was hardly a friend to the "American citizen." He categorically lengthened the Depression with ludicrous economic fixes and regulations. He brazenly attempted to usurp the Constitution. He preyed on the ignorant with redistribution promises, the effects of which we are still reeling from today.

While the quaint notion of a buddy or pal in the White House dominates liberal thought, one must consider the wisdom of such thinking. Central to the tenants of social envy is the rich/evil, poor/virtuous slant of each argument. Just as often cited is the "working man" image of a life long toiler in a factory, as if the "rich" didn't actually work for their money. Well, brother, stay in that factory if you choose but consider this; no one makes you just work there, and no one will stop you if you decide to change your skill set and earn and produce more wealth. You see, most people only come by wealth through earning it. They make a conscious decision to change their circumstances.

Of course, making it on your own leaves out the political middleman, and therein lies the problem for those wanting to be your government "friends." Before you step into another voting booth, remember that the politician who asks for your vote is asking for power over your life and future and he needs you much more than you need him. Some friend, huh?

Mark Wells

Los Gatos , CA

Moyers is the worst kind of American, basically a traitor and a whiner to boot. He asks people to play on their weaknesses instead of relying on their strengths.

There would be no America if the Founding Fathers were like Moyers, father or son.

What an embarrassment and disgrace he is to all good and real Americans.

Joe Narof

Glendale, CA