I can’t believe what happened in Massachusetts! If Philadelphia, in the colony of Pennsylvania, can be called the “cradle of liberty,” then Boston, in the colony of Massachusetts, should be called “the cradle of independence!” It was in Massachusetts that the great John Adams first put forth the call for independence from England, a call that resonated through all the 13 colonies. It was in Massachusetts that our revered antecedents expressed their disapproval of King George’s Tea Tax by steeping it in Boston Harbor. It was from Boston’s Old North Church that Paul Revere got the signal that the redcoats were sallying forth to put down the unruly rebels.

Tuesday a great call from the people of Massachusetts resonated through the 50 states. If the liberal but wise people of Massachusetts have had enough, it’s enough for the rest of us! The people in Washington better learn a new technique — it’s called LISTENING! When 3 million people take time out of their lives and go through the inconven-

ience of traveling to Washington to warn their government, and the president responds by climbing into Air Force One and jetting off to Minneapolis to a meeting of 100 friends in a “feel-good” session, listening has taken a beating! Tom Clancy, in several of his books, has put forth the truth (not original with him, I’m sure) that when people ignore reality, it has the habit of turning around and biting them where they sit, and the longer they ignore it, the more painful the ultimate bite!

So my advice to the leaders in Washington is to “listen!” And the word I have for my fellow Americans in Massachusetts is “Thank you, brothers and sisters, and God Bless You!”

Arthur J. White

Vicksburg