What we can do for our country

To the editor:What can we do as Americans to ensure a strong and vibrant United States?

Let's start by recognizing that the true struggle is not between Republicans and Democrats or conservatives and liberals. The real battle is between individuals who take responsibility for themselves and those who think the answer to any problem is a government program. Wasteful spending under both parties and the insatiable appetite for more of our tax dollars must stop.

Let's make open primaries a thing of the past. Democrats and Republicans should decide whom they want as their candidates without interference from the other party. And conservatives need to back candidates with solid conservative principles. If you doubt the power of conservatism, look up the incredible story of Gov. Bobby Jindal in liberal Louisiana.

Government has to be more responsive on the local level. I'm not suggesting that a few people should be able to make policy. I am saying they have a right to be heard. And that is much more likely on the local level. Our federal and state bureaucracies have taken the voice away from common citizens.

It is hard to find anyone who does not feel that Washington is broken. Yet the top three presidential primary candidates are members of the Congress with the lowest overall favorable ratings ever. Are we really getting the government we want and deserve? Maybe the day will come when we once again have two principled political parties and the days of holding our noses when we vote will be over.

TED A. LeGRAND, Cape Girardeau