Letter to the Editor by Catherine C. “Chris” Catalfamo

April 15, 2008

Letter to the Editor





In just a few days, Pennsylvanians will go to the polls to choose a
Presidential primary candidate in one of the most exciting and turbulent
elections in our history. Vying for the Presidency are a woman candidate, an
African American candidate, and a traditional conservative candidate
representing the status quo. After decades of citizen alienation from the
process of government, the people, and especially young people, have
registered to vote in record numbers. The candidate we elect will have to
face extraordinary challenges nationally and globally in a dangerous world
order, one in which our moral leadership has been diminished. We are not
just choosing an American President. We are choosing a world leader. We are
choosing the future that we will leave for our children at a turning point
in the history of the planet.



As a historian, I often look to our American heritage for inspiration
especially in times of crisis or during the "blood sport" of an American
presidential election. The founders of our young revolutionary nation knew
that democracy was a slow, difficult and messy process and that we would
have to become a new people to make it succeed... When we broke away from
England, the world did not believe that our independence would last very
long. Liberty, equality, rule by the people were very radical notions.

We were battered about by France, England, and Spain and even Barbary
pirates on the high seas; on the frontier we matched Native
American"depredations" with our own; and in the streets of our cities,
Federalist and Democratic-Republican mobs, each claiming to represent the
true Spirit of '76, beat each other up and tarred and feathered unlucky
partisans. When I am disheartened by the continuous media loops of every
tiny misstep of real human beings, the twisting and spinning out-of-context,
the insinuations about character, the unscrupulous grabs for power by some,
the early Republic makes us look mild.



A vibrant democracy has always demanded that the people engage fully in
the process. Voting is only one tool since even the vote can be manipulated.
The Revolutionary founders knew that government and corruption went hand in
hand and that eternal vigilance by the people, informed by education and
backed by a well regulated militia, was the price of a republic. Like all
things worthwhile, democracy is a journey and often a struggle, a work in
progress, not a fait accompli. It is not a spectator sport. We can and
should disagree, but we must participate. Otherwise we get the government we
deserve.



Recent polls show that the majority of Americans feel that our country is
off-track and they are looking for a Presidential candidate who will bring
change. But this change must be rooted in the American people. It cannot be
entrusted to one candidate. The President executes the will and desire of
the people. When the people are not the major influence, there is no
democracy and there is no lasting change.



There is only one candidate in this election who puts the people first. He
is not perfect, but he is willing to be led and informed by the people, to
learn from us and to become our catalyst for change. While the other
candidates say, "I will do this, and I will do that. I am experienced, I am
the right person", Barack Obama tells us that WE are the right PEOPLE to do
the job.



When last have we heard this from a leader of our country? Thomas Paine
called upon a retreating Revolutionary peoples' army to go back "to first
principles" of liberty and equality, renewing them for the fight. Abraham
Lincoln called upon the better angels of OUR nature to save the Union.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt put us to work for our country and sustained us
through the worst economic times we have ever suffered. John F. Kennedy
rallied us to work for our country instead of expecting our country to work
for us. And Martin Luther King, Jr. invited all of us to the table of
brotherhood to challenge discrimination.



Barack Obama calls us to come together to solve our own problems. This is
the message that takes democracy forward and safeguards it from the
corruption of power. Some day soon, we must have universal health care for
all of our people, like the rest of the so called "developed world." Some
day soon, we must change our consciousness to take the necessary measures to
reverse the damage we have done to the planet. Some day soon, we must learn
to work constantly for peace, and not permit the interests of the few to
highjack our foreign policy. Some day soon, we must get rid of the whole
concept of race so we can see the common problems of ALL working Americans
clearly and solve them. Some day soon, we must once again be the America
that the world admires.



I believe that Barack Obama has the vitality, the magnetism, the character,
the courage to take us to the next step and the future, because he believes
in us--we the people.



Catherine C. “Chris” Catalfamo

Indiana, Pa.