To the editor:

I am sad to say I was once much prouder to proclaim that I was born in Lawrence than I am today.

Until about 20 or 30 years ago, Lawrence was a great place to call home. Life was not perfect for all people of all races, but by and large people were, I think, happier and better off then.

But a portion of the elite of Lawrence had grand plans for their rise through Lawrence’s westward expansion, and to facilitate that plan they proposed the county use tax money to build them a special road for “bypassing” Lawrence.

And the elite pushed their plan forward with the Douglas County Commission, who approved it without due consideration of their obligation to act in the best interests of all. It is this shirking of responsibility to the whole and this elitist attitude that has corrupted officials at Enron, WorldCom and other corporations and caused the fall of the U.S. stock market.

Now a certain portion of the elite of the United States seemingly believes that the United States can act in any way it wishes without taking into consideration its international obligation to act in accordance with the best interests of all the world’s citizens. They are acting unilaterally to bring about their rise and our fall. We, the people, owe it to ourselves and to all future generations, to speak out about it.

If you don’t believe the United States is acting elitist, count yourself among the elitists.

Les Blevins,

Lawrence