Opinion

First priority: How does this help people?

Posted June 08, 2011 4:00 am

It occurred to me while honoring our soldiers at the local Memorial Day parade, that I’ve never once heard one of them say that they fought to protect the freedoms and rights of global corporations. (I concede that you can lump them in with “protecting our way of life” but I bet “financial institutions” would be far down on their list of specifics, if mentioned at all.)

We honor these servants best, especially those who have given their lives, not just by appreciating these freedoms but by exercising them. For me, this includes an expectation — no, a demand — that our government officials reflect the priority of the individual in what they do. The first measure of any legislation should be “how does this help the people?”

R. Duff Monaghan

Wheaton

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