Friday, February 25, 2005
What he said...
Wheaton Mayor Carr gave his annual State of the City speech at the Jan. 20 Wheaton Chamber of Commerce meeting. It was a great speech that focused on Wheaton's prosperity. But the speech could have been even better if it also had focused on Wheaton's low crime rate and stressed that Wheaton owes its prosperity and safety to the conservative values that its residents have always shared. All those values are reflected in the National Republican Party platform and the Illinois Republican Party platform.
The speech could have been even better if it had stressed the strong vote for Bush-Cheney and for Keyes in Wheaton; that Keyes campaigned at the Wheaton train station on Aug. 13 and Nov. 1; that Keyes spoke at the Sept. 11 Patriot Day Picnic in Memorial Park in Wheaton; that banners and signs for Republican candidates were displayed on the 324 W. Front St. building by the Wheaton train station for over two years before its demolition in September; and that the DuPage County Republican Party headquarters building is in Wheaton.
Why do people who blame all problems on conservative values choose to live in DuPage, in Milton, and in Wheaton and take advantage of the prosperity and safety? Answers I have heard include: They would live somewhere else but they want to live near where they work; conservative values have anything to do with the area's prosperity or safety; the area is nowhere near as prosperous or as safe as people think it is; the area owes its prosperity and safety to liberal values; and the area would be much more prosperous and much more safe if its leaders were Democrats who implemented the liberal values reflected in the National Democrat platform and the Illinois Democrat Party platform.
I urge them to reconsider — take a look at America — with rare exception, you find prosperity and safety where Republican conservative values flourish and you find government dependency, destruction of the family, poverty, and crime where Democrat liberal values flourish.
David John Diersen, Wheaton
February 4, 2005
What I said...
Mr. Diersen also asks the question, "Why do people who blame all problems on conservative values choose to live in Wheaton and take advantage of the prosperity and safety?" I think Mr. Diersen does our community a disservice by describing his and my neighbors in such a stereotypical manner. Labels aside, I believe the residents of Wheaton have more in common value-wise than they have differences. Mr. Diersen closes his letter by stating that "you find government dependency, destruction of the family, poverty ... where Democrat liberal values flourish." Again, no evidence provided. For accuracy's sake, I would like to point out for Mr. Diersen that the federal budget, which is currently controlled by Republicans, allows $87 billion annually to welfare — corporate welfare, that is — subsidies, tax breaks and the like. That strikes me as pretty heavy government dependency.
And Mr. Diersen's own Alan Keyes just recently broke ties with his daughter because she is gay. That strikes me as destruction of the family. Also the poverty rate has risen each year since Bush was elected and currently about 36 million Americans are living below poverty level.
My point is not to take the opposite position of Mr. Diersen. It's rather simplistic to reduce anything down to only two choices. My real point is that we do our community a disservice when we denigrate our neighbors or cast stones. Wheaton is a result of all its residents, not just some. And all the residents are deserving of respect. We should not be following the divisive example set in the media. We should be setting the example. Where better than Wheaton?
Chuck Steele, Wheaton
February 25, 2005
