LETTERS: TOO MANY CROOKS IN GOVERNMENT

To the editor:

I think the most intelligent people will agree that we have far too many crooks, socialists and traitors in our government. Those who don't probably mistakenly believe that they somehow benefit from this crookedness. First, I will define my usage of these terms so as to avoid confusion.

I define crooks as anyone who breaks the law. These are not limited to those who steal. Admittedly, we have far too many of these, and occasionally one is slapped on the wrist or reprimanded. The most common form of crookedness is violation of the Constitution. The Constitution is the basic law of the land. Any deviation from it is a violation of law and also a violation of any official's oath of office. Yet most of our members of Congress engage in this practice with impunity.

A socialist is defined as one who endorses the philosophy that government should control every aspect of a citizen's private life. These are not limited to actual members of the Socialist Party, but they are probably more dangerous because they usually hide behind some other terminology such as conservative, moderate or liberal.

A traitor is one who aids and abets our enemies. One example of this is selling war materiels to China. Some Chinese leaders have openly declared that the United States is their No. 1 enemy.

We have a growing number of people in this country who oppose this crookedness. These people are referred to by some as extremists, racists, anti-Semites, kooks and the lunatic fringe. I personally can't see where expecting honesty in government warrants all these insulting names. I was always taught that those who resort to name calling were low-class people who do not have a valid argument to back up their actions and beliefs. Now I contend that crooks and low-class people are one and the same. I also contend that those who oppose these so-called extremists and resort to name calling are the very crooks who are the subject of this letter. Anyone who is not engaged in crookedness would not have the incentive to stoop to name calling. So if anyone is in doubt as to who the crooks are in our government, just sit back and listen to their talk, and they will stupidly reveal themselves as to what they are.

RAY UMBDENSTOCK

Cape Girardeau