‘Miss Whitney’
Would Be Shocked

I hope someone will answer this letter and tell me if I’m all wet.

One of my favorite classes in high school was "Problems of Democracy," taught by Miss Whitney in Mendon, Mass.

Miss Whitney was something different than I had been accustomed to. She taught us not only dates but also the circumstances that were taking place as life-changing events were happening in history. She brought history alive.

I thought (from Miss Whitney’s teaching) in order for our country to engage in war, the U.S. Congress had to "declare war." Those are the instructions in our country’s "owner’s manual" or "contract" with the citizens by way of the Constitution.

The Constitution is very specific. "Congress shall declare war." A majority of 50 senators and a majority of 400+ congressmen. Period. Not one man. Not the President.

If Miss Whitney was correct, how did we get in the position we find ourselves in now? How many "wars" do we have going on now as a country?

The War on Poverty.

The War on Drugs.

The War in Iraq.

The War in Afghanistan.

The War on Terror.

The War on … etc., etc., etc.

Has our government lost its way?

Have we as citizens lost control of the government?

Did we ever have it?

Should we continue fighting? For what?

I hope someone reading this can enlighten my understanding as much as Miss Whitney did in 1959.

David Atkinson

Braintree

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