Page:Freeman v6.djvu/15

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WOULD YOU HAVE SIGNED IT?
17


Time for Introspection

When there was corruption in our local government-at the City Hall or in the County Court House-did we speak out against it, you and I? Or did we decide that it was a political question, and that it would be bad business for us to meddle with it?

When the federal millions began to be distributed to states and communities, did we protest, you and I-or did we figure that such action would make us unpopular with the politicians and others who were profiting from the handouts? And is it possible that we even figured we might profit, ourselves, from the federal largess?

When our city government decided to go after federal money for some project that was of concern only to our community-a project that ought to have been paid for locally since it was purely for local use and benefit-did we lift our voices against it, or did we "go along"?

When the congressman from your district was campaigning on the promise to work for drastic reduction in the size and power of the federal bureaucracy; when he demanded a return to solvency in our national finances; when he stood for a balanced budget; when he refused to cater to one or more of the pressure groups in your area, but pledged himself to serve the interests of the whole country-in all this, did you support him? Or if your congressman stood for the opposite principles-did you oppose him? And in either case, did you let your support or your opposition be known? Or did you keep discreetly still because you feared your action might of-