Letter to the editor: Especially to younger folk
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before …” These words are the opening lines of the book “A Tale of Two Cities,” a historical novel by Charles Dickens set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. Perhaps every generation might say the same about their own times. It seems so with me.
The generation I was born into was labeled “The Silent Generation,” those born between 1925 and 1942. Many of you are part of what is called the Millennial and Z Generations, amorphous as they are. Today, there are resources and opportunities that make it the best of times, and also conditions that are deeply troubling to me and should be for you as younger people making your place in the world. I am going to mention three of them but only focus on one.
The first is global warming, which you are well aware of. There can be no debate regarding the fact that average global temperatures have risen two degrees in recent history. This is historically unprecedented and affects every corner of the world profoundly.
The second is endless war. Sadly, our country has been at war somewhere all of my life and all of yours also. World War I ended in 1918 and was supposed to be “the war that ended all war,” yet we and the world have been at war nonstop for all of this time — and have learned nothing. To many, the 9/11 terrorist attack seems like ancient history, but it changed the course of our entire country and truly the whole history of the world. You would do well to become informed of the implications and entanglement of our country’s military-industrial-political complex (as it is called), which after $6 trillion spent on “fighting terrorism” has accomplished little and only created more enemies for our country.
The third, which is my main focus and without question will soon have a huge impact on you especially is our national debt. Most people don’t think about it that much, and our politicians and Congress are afraid to deal with it honestly and seriously. This is why it has now grown to over $21 trillion, and a trillion more are added each year. (The height of a stack of a trillion $1 bills measures 67,866 miles high, almost a quarter distance from earth to the moon.) Because of our debt’s size, it will now never be paid off, and the best possibility is that it be stabilized somehow. The options of default or just printing more money would be catastrophic.
For the past 75 years, the generations before you have thought little of your future well-being and ignored the clear warnings. It is now too late to avoid the very serious consequences that we face, and if there is any hope at all to deal with this, it must come from you, the younger generation. Our national debt is complicated, but what is not complicated is the interest on it that must be paid each year. The annual interest payment amount required each year is predicted to be $1 trillion by 2028, which is imaginable, and would cripple even the most basic of government services and rob you of future Medicare and Social Security benefits. Think of having a student loan where you pay 25 percent or more of your income just toward the interest on your loan and the principal never gets paid off but instead increases with added interest to pay.
In truth, it is treasonous of our political leaders to have put the country, and especially you younger people, in the position we are now in. You should be very angry as to these conditions that will affect you so profoundly. If there is to be a better future for our country and a more peaceful world, it is up to you, with much more female involvement, as you have been deeply betrayed by your elders. You shouldn’t have to worry about these problems, but tragically, they have been thrust upon you with a vengeance, and regrettably, as noted in the Bible, “the sins of the Fathers … are visited upon the children to the third and the fourth generation.”
—Warren S. Wright
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