It was never the intent of the Founding Fathers to maintain a large military, yet we find ourselves fighting terrorism all over the globe. It’s a truism of security that if you try to protect everything, you end up protecting nothing.

The billions of dollars we are spending in Iraq weekly inch us closer to financial collapse. Our enemies have diagrammed the collapse of the U.S. much the same way President Reagan did to the Soviet Union by forcing them to spend themselves into bankruptcy. Today, the mere possibility of any attack inspires us to spend every last dime to fight it. Terrorists know that, as does every would-be enemy of our country. Would the Iranians or North Koreans develop nuclear capabilities if they didn’t think the U.S. was too preoccupied to intervene?

Add unrestrained spending by our leaders, such as last month’s $286.4 billion highway bill, and a couple of natural disasters in the Gulf states that will cost hundreds of billions more. As of Sept. 28, our country was $7.9 trillion in debt. In the near future, I fear we will see our currency devalued, whereas a dollar might be worth a quarter or a dime, meaning a gallon of milk or gas might cost $12 to $30 per gallon.

The outlook for Maine’s working poor is fearsome. The financial burden placed on future generations is formidable. Our Republican leadership has failed all of us, but people such as myself in particular – legitimate Republicans.

Bertrand Dugal, Durham