Upcoming Foreclosures - Do you share this extremely intelligent woman's concern?

Do you share this extremely intelligent woman's concern?

This letter was sent to the Wall Street Journal on August 8, 2008 by Alisa Wilson, Ph.D. Of Beverly Hills , CA . in response to the Wall Street Journal article titled "Where's The Outrage?" that appeared July 31,2008. Really. I can tell you where the outrage is. The outrage is here, in this middle-aged, well-educated, upper-middle class woman. The outrage is here, but I have no representation, no voice. The outrage is here, but no one is listening for who am I? I am not a billionaire like George Soros that can fund an entire political movement. I am not a celebrity like Barbra Streisand that can garner the attention of the press to promote political candidates. I am not a film maker like Michael Moore or Al Gore that can deliver misleading movies to the public. The outrage is here, but unlike those with money or power, I don't know how to reach those who feel similarly in order to effect change. Why am I outraged? I am outraged that my country, the United States of America , is in a state of moral and ethical decline. There is no right or wrong anymore, just what's fair. Is it fair that millions of Americans who overreached and borrowed more than they could afford are now being bailed out by the government and lending institutions to stave off foreclosure? Why shouldn't these people be made to pay the consequences for their poor judgment? When my husband and I purchased our home, we were careful to purchase only what we could afford. Believe me, there are much larger, much nicer homes that I would have loved to have purchased. But, taking responsibility for my behavior and my life, I went with the house that we could afford, not the house that we could not afford. The notion of personal responsibility has all but died in our country. I am outraged, that the country that welcomed my mother as an immigrant from Hitler's Nazi Germany and required that she and her family learn English now allows itself to be overrun with illegal immigrants and worse, caters to those illegal immigrants. I am outraged that my hard-earned taxes help support those here illegally. That the Los Angeles Public School District is in such disarray that I felt it incumbent to send my child to private school, that every time I go to the ATM, I see "do you want to continue in English or Spanish?", that every time I call the bank, the phone company , or similar business, I hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish". WHY? This is America , our common language is English and attempts to promote a bi- or multi-lingual society are sure to fail and to marginalize those who cannot communicate in English. I am outraged at our country's weakness in the face of new threats on American traditions from Muslims. Just this week, Tyson's Food negotiated with its union to permit Muslims to have Eid-al-Fitr as a holiday instead ofLabor Day. What am I missing? Yes, there is a large Somali Muslim population working at the Tyson's plant in Tennessee . Tennessee , last I checked, is still part of the United States . If Muslims want to live and work here they should be required to live and work by our American Laws and not impose their will on our long history. In the same week, Random House announced that they had indefinitely delayed the publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a book about the life of Mohammed's wife, Aisha due to fear of retribution and violence by Muslims. When did we become a nation ruled by fear of what other immigrant groups want? It makes me so sad to see large corporations cave rather than stand proudly on the principles that built this country. I am outraged because appeasement has never worked as a political policy, yet appeasing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is exactly what we are trying to do. An excellent article, also published recently in the Wall Street Journal, went through over 20 years of history and why talking with Iran has been and will continue to be ineffective. Yet talk, with a madman no less, we continue to do. Have we so lost our moral compass and its ability to detect evil that we will not go in and destroy Iran's nuclear program? Would we rather wait for another Holocaust for the Jews - one which they would be unlikely to survive? When does it end? As if the battle for good and evil isn't enough, now come the Environmentalists who are so afraid of global warming that they want to put a Bag tax on grocery bags in California; to eliminate Mylar balloons; to establish something as insidious as the recycle police in San Francisco. I do my share for the environment: I recycle, I use water wisely, I installed an energy efficient air conditioning unit. But when and where does the lunacy stop?Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map, the California economy is being overrun by illegal immigrants, and the United States of America no longer knows right from wrong, good from evil. So what does California do? Tax grocery bags. So, America , although I can tell you where oops. cut off the last part. So, America , although I can tell you where the outrage is, this one middle-aged, well-educated, upper middle class woman is powerless to do anything about it. I don't even feel like my vote counts because I am so outnumbered by those who disagree with me. Alisa Wilson, Ph..D. Beverly Hills , California

Public Comments

Put this into book form. More people will read it. Not here.
That is absolutely without a doubt the truth!! A well written letter by a truly highly educated person who knows what so many of us feel out here. God Bless her for her truth and wisdom
No I don't share hers or any Republican's view at all.
Yes I do share her view.
Impeach Obama!
Dr. Wilson must have been in my head. She is not outnumbered, but many like us are not speaking out like she. Nobody could have said it better.
Keep voting it counts. Though, I don't think I qualify for upper middle class, I'm educated. You have to stand firm and live your beliefs.. that's all any of us can do.. oh and help those less fortunate when you can.
Long read. So...among other things she's ticked off because some people negotiated a holiday with their employer that wasn't (gasp!) a Christian holiday? And they traded a secular holiday to get it? Outrageous! And that (gasp!) some people with a religious belief intimidated a book publisher not to release a book they deemed offensive? I hate to tell her, but the Religious Right has been doing that for decades now! Another remarkable thing is that she rails against multi-culturism and yet she comments how her own mother was a refuge from Germany. Doesn't she stop to think that the people in America at that time probably felt the same way about her mom as she does about all these "awful foreigners"? While I don't doubt her anger, I do doubt her rationality.
yes 100%
A "middle class" doctor from Beverly Hills? How many things are wrong with that. Sorry. I couldn't get through the article.
Put Obama on trial for treason or pull from the union
All though I do agree with a lot of this women's conservative points of view, I dont agree with this: A) Everyone should be required to learn English, and B) Everyone should only be allowed holidays that is defined to be American (her Muslim reference.) The US was based on a melting pot, which, her German mother I'm sure could relate to. However, I believe we are "in a state of moral and ethical decline." And I believe we should have stricter immigrant laws (we're a small country that can't even handle itself right now-- we need to exhibit moderation.) I believe that many of us have gotten in over our heads, such as in the housing market, and those who made poor choices should learn from their mistake. She is definitely a very boisterous one.
"Is it fair that millions of Americans who overreached and borrowed more than they could afford are now being bailed out by the government and lending institutions to stave off foreclosure? Why shouldn't these people be made to pay the consequences for their poor judgment?" Was Dr. Wilson outraged when the government bailed out the banks that made the bad loans under George W. Bush. "In the same week, Random House announced that they had indefinitely delayed the publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a book about the life of Mohammed's wife, Aisha due to fear of retribution and violence by Muslims. When did we become a nation ruled by fear of what other immigrant groups want? It makes me so sad to see large corporations cave rather than stand proudly on the principles that built this country." Is Dr. Wilson a communist? Does she think the government should intervene in a private relationship between an employer and its employee to maintain an 'American Tradition", especially Labor Day? I'm willing to bet that she detests the Labor Movement it celebrates. "I am outraged because appeasement has never worked as a political policy, yet appeasing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is exactly what we are trying to do. An excellent article, also published recently in the Wall Street Journal, went through over 20 years of history and why talking with Iran has been and will continue to be ineffective." I wonder if that article discussed the deal the Republicans made with Iran to release the hostages as soon as Ron Reagan took the helm. I've got some news for you. She isn't very intelligent,
You misunderstand the Obama plan. It is to abolish prosperity. It was carefully crafted by Robert Mugabe and his brains trust at the Central Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and is founded on the 7 basic precepts of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot. Social justice will be achieved when all Americans (government officials exempted) live no better than Kenyans or Zimbabweans.
She is a long winded Bimbo.
The one thing that I commend her for and hat I didn't see in this letter is the pointing fingers to blame nor did she say President Obama or the government but only shared her outraged about surroundings and her racism against those who of a different race.
No-because as a bankruptcy attorney who handles many cases where people are going through foreclosure, I can tall you that most are not a result of irresponsibility. They are usually a result of 4 things-a divorce, a layoff, an injury, or death. These are misfortunes that are not the fault of the buyer. The rest are usually just victims of inflation. Everything has been going up except for wages. This has been going on for a long time. Why is this woman so upset that people are getting help? Her taxes have not increased. She sounds selfish. She should be happy with her good fortune. She has a job. Where was her outrage when people lost their lives in the war? Maybe one of those soldiers who died had a spouse who now can't afford his or her house.
I'm sorry, but this person's solutions sound like communism or something--everyone should have to learn English? "This is America , our common language is English and attempts to promote a bi- or multi-lingual society are sure to fail and to marginalize those who cannot communicate in English." America's "common language" is not anything--just because someone speaks English does not make them an American. That's like saying only Caucasians are Americans. Yes, I am mad about the taxes (okay, I don't have to pay taxes yet, I'm only thirteen!) but we have to hope for the best. Besides, it worked for the Great Depression, and if it worked then it will (hopefully) work now.