I would like to introduce you all to a piece written by my eldest sibling. It is a letter to no one and yet a letter to every one.  It is not a debate nor a bash on liberalism. It is my brother's way of speaking his mind in an intelligent and precise manner. I encourage you to share this as he wants his voice heard and it desperately needs to be heard.

So now we are told that this economic situation will begin to right itself within the next year. I hope so, but what is the evidence? Some unproven hope that our government will suddenly get it right and after gaining control over the economy they will have a miraculous cure for what ails us? Remember these are the same folks that got us to this point, both sides of the isle.

I for one, while hoping that somehow this does work, remain very skeptical.

We as Americans are sheltered and naive. We have been misled about the nature of this world. We are ignorant about the suffering and poverty that the majority of the world daily experiences. Oh, we see it for a few minutes at a time on CNN and it's trendy to shake our heads at the sadness of it all. We even talk about the need to end all human suffering, all the while worrying about the latest celebrity gossip with our ipods drowning out the truth of what is happening all around us. We have forgotten that it was the blood of our ancestors that was spilled to give us freedom and then to maintain a representative government that served as a protection of that freedom. For that matter, we changed the meaning of freedom, believing that it is really nothing more than the ability to do whatever you want without consequences. In a land where our poor live better than billions of others throughout the globe and throughout history, we talk about suffering with no real knowledge of what true suffering is.

We have abandoned truth and why not? Truth, we are told is relative to time and society. We are told that morals are arbitrary as well. We teach our children that they are the result of 4 billion years of blind chance and chemical interactions. We use terms like "science" to rationalize away any deeper meaning in this life. With no greater purpose in out lives, hedonism is all that we have left. We live for the moment with no pondering of the history that has brought us to this point and no thought of what future we are creating.

History too has been made pliable, bent and twisted to teach us what is popular or convenient for the moment, not what truly happened in the past. Hollywood fabricates fictions with historical figures portrayed by popular actors and they become the new truth. We have lied to ourselves telling ourselves that we are somehow different than our fore bearers, somehow above them and that they made grievous mistakes through their ignorance. We pride ourselves about how much more enlightened we are and reassure ourselves that we are incapable of making similar mistakes. All the while we continue to ignore the same old patterns that inevitably lead human kind to reengage in a destructive cycle of oppression and violence.

Are we somehow immune to such depravity?

In some ways we are like the people on a cruise ship, dead in the water. We have become a culture without an anchor, blown about by the winds and waves of current events. A storm is rising. The boat is beginning to rock. We feel it in our gut, but refuse to acknowledge it's significance. Most of us try it ignore the feeling by blocking out the storm and entertaining ourselves to the point of distraction. Others scurry about trying to straiten up the deck. In reality though we are completely at the mercy of the sea, and no one is doing a thing to get ready for the waves that will soon crash down around us.

Our leaders in government propose solutions that only worsen the problem and at best delay the consequences for a few years. The debt we have accumulated so far may take a tax rate in the 80-95% range to pay down according to some sources. We are told to trust in our government to protect us, that only government can protect us. Who though is protecting us from the government? The only government I trust is one that stays out of my life as much as possible. Today though, through fear and manipulation our leaders are quickly taking over control of our lives. This was experimented with in the last century. We should know where this leads but in our hubris we tell ourselves the WE alone among all the peoples in history will be immune to the consequences. We are told that actions must be taken quickly and that there is no time for debate about what those actions should be. We are promised that all ideas will be considered while one party locks the other out of the process. To question is unpatriotic. To demand fiscal responsibility is racist. When challenged, the majority tells the minority, "we won" meaning "you have no say".

I, for one, want my say. I want my voice heard. I want my vote to count. I want a government that cares about individuals, not just controlling them. I want morality to guide our leaders, not an obsession to gain and hold power. I believe that there is hope, but it lies not with our government, but with the people that make up this nation. I just wonder if there are enough citizens left who care to make a difference. All around me I see apathy. I see resignation to what people feel is beyond their control. I believe in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We do not belong to the government, it belongs to us. It is only through the inaction of we the American people that we have relinquished that control and only through a renewed action that we will regain it.

On October 25th, 1917 the people of Russia created a society run by the government that was to usher in an era of equality for all people. In so doing they created a ruling class that viewed the masses as an instrument to control. 70 years of bloodshed followed. The government provided for the masses at its discretion, food was rationed, living space was meted out based on family size and party affiliation. All were equal, equally brought down to the same level of mere subsistence. During that time some 60 million citizens were killed off by their own leaders. Freedom as we know it was non existent. Individuals became numbers. Those who rose too high above their station in life were eliminated if their talents could not be used to further the state.

Now it seems to me that we are sacrificing our hard earned freedoms for promises as empty as those given to the soviet people 90 years ago. Our nation is moving toward governmental control of the banks and health care. We are told that this is the only viable solution. We are told that the principles of individual liberty that this nation was founded on have failed. We are told that success is arrogance, that achievement is a vice, that any personal gain is accomplished only at the expense of others.

I am just one voice. I am just one person out of millions. Yet, while I still have my voice, I want to use it to speak up for what I believe. I may be in the minority, but I believe I owe it to the sacrifice of those that have gone before me to stand up for the principles that they bled and died to secure for me. I don't believe I am alone. So I am urging those who, like me, feel that their voice is being drowned out to join me in saying that we still believe in what our founding fathers created. One voice can easily be ignored, 10 voices may be drowned out, but a thousand voices or a million cannot be dismissed. I truly believe that this is our last chance. Speak now or forever live to regret what we have given up.

I hear people talking about how bad times are getting. The stack market has fallen to half it's value, the jobless rate is on the rise, but how many of us have truly felt any impact on our personal lifestyle so far? I don't buy the reassuring message of our government that they are looking out for us. I don't trust our leaders when they tell us that they know better than I do what is good for us and that they will quickly have the situation under control. These are the same people who got us into this mess. I believe that history when ignored repeats its ugly cycle. I may not be able to stop the shift that our nation is taking, but I will do all that is in my power to try. We have not seen true suffering, but we may. We are on shaky ground.

Two images I recently found have shaken me to my core. They are an example of what mankind is capable of. The first is of Berlin in 1930. It shows a bustling modern city. Little did the citizens know what horrors awaited them in the next decade and a half. Looking at the same city 15 years later demonstrates just what self-destructive actions mankind is capable of. Imagine this is the city in which you now live. Never assume we are safe from such destruction. Realize that as bleak as things may seem, we are no where near to approaching how bleak things may become. Realize that only when the citizens of a nation refuse to take a stand for what is right that their government dictates to them what is right.

So join with me please, write or call your leaders in congress. Urge them to remember that they are our servants, not our kings. Remind them that they are elected and not entitled to their authority. Speak out with your voice and with your vote. Take a stand while we can, even when it costs us. This is our last, best hope.

Bill Weatherford