Do not ignore domestic problems because of war

Hallie Thomas

Hallie Thomas

Well, folks, Baghdad has fallen and Iraq is currently being rebuilt into a more free and democratic society. That was awfully nice of us!

Now the Bush administration is hoping to perform similar miracles in Syria, Iran and North Korea. That sounds fun and all, but I’ve been wondering … What has my free and democratic society done for me lately?

This weekend I was searching the Internet, curious about current hot-button domestic policy disputes and guess what? I couldn’t seem to find anything.

I read the “Argus Leader.” I read www.cnn.com. I even brought up the Drudge Report. I found hardly a peep.

Granted there were a few snippets on the passing of a $2.27 trillion federal budget by Congress. There was also some buzz about a proposal of the Interior Department to open three million acres of wilderness in Utah for “development,” but those two issues aside, all there was to read about was war, war and more war.

Are we still in a health care crisis? How about our sluggish economy? What will our energy situation be like this summer?

Now, I AM an American citizen and I understand that U.S. forces have hit the Middle East like an eleventh plague. I agree that our government should be focusing some of its energy on where we have loved ones stationed and it has been decided that we invest an estimated $80 billion on this Iraq campaign.

But I want to hear about other issues. Is our government accomplishing anything domestic at all? Once our freedom is protected, will my grandmother be able to afford her medicine? Once our borders are secure, will there be clean national parks for my children to play in? After the fight against terrorism subsides, will there be a fight against hunger and poverty as well?

These are a lot of questions that won’t be answered for awhile. I didn’t vote for George Bush, but I still expect him, as well as the rest of our public officials, to perform all of the duties that we pay them for.

So, ladies and gentleman of the U.S. government, have you forgotten the rest of us?

Reach Hallie Thomas at [email protected].