Lawrence Journal-World opinion section

To the editor:

Nothing is so painful as self-inflicted wounds like a finger cut while slicing potatoes. You feel stupid. The moment before, your finger was not bleeding, and you have only yourself to blame, you did it to yourself. It’s worse when you knew you were in the wrong and did it anyway — like going too fast on a wet road.

So, last week, the Journal-World reported an Amtrak train, the Southwest Chief, derailed west of Dodge City; 145 people, 32 hurt. Initial reports said the tracks in that area were known to be dangerous. I wasn’t surprised to read that track maintenance had been underfunded. The same paper reported that hundreds marched, some as far as 60 miles, to protest underfunding of Kansas schools: another self-inflicted wound?

It’s not that we don’t have the money for schools and train tracks; it’s the will we lack. Earlier generations of Americans had the political will to build and fund good schools, and good railroads, bridges, and roadways, and to make clean water for everyone to drink. These are public goods — things good for everyone, not just a few — and all of us, both the many and the few, together, need to have the will to pay for public goods. That’s real patriotism. There are fundamental standards for an intelligent, industrious, and forward-looking people.