Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Every February, we celebrate a great minority of Americans. We recall their travels from slavery to freedom and educate ourselves about the heroes and heroines of that epic struggle. It is a good exercise for all Americans. I was a child in a segregated South, but clearly recall the injustices dealt so many good people. It’s been a bumpy path from Reconstruction through Jim Crow and separate-but-equal eras for the descendants of African slaves. However, their idealism noted in our founding documents has become a reality for all citizens willing to accept the responsibilities of citizenship.

As our nation painfully shed this physical variety of slavery, has it been cleverly replaced by a new form of bondage? This new slavery is a total dependence by individuals and families on government for the materials and funds necessary to maintain a minimum standard of living. This isn’t Social Security, veterans’ benefits, government retirements or any benefit from the government for which a citizen made payments or gave service. This new slavery involves mentally capable, able-bodied people receiving handouts from the government without making any contributions to pay for their benefits.

This new slavery began as a scheme from the Franklin Roosevelt administration to give all citizens a "New Deal." The social experiment has been a terrible cancer on society. After 80 years and trillions of dollars, this war on poverty has failed. Now, many generations of Americans have come to expect everything from food, to condoms, to cell phones, to money from the government. In the process, the synergy of families, churches, communities and individuals has been destroyed. The only success of these welfare plans has been wicked politicians gaining political advantage by pitting classes and races against each other.

Our Constitution never authorized this new slavery. America can no longer afford the huge expense of this dole and the overlapping government agencies necessary to dispense the welfare. One clear role of the federal government outlined in our Constitution is national defense. Many politicians and citizens consider our national defense a legitimate area to cut in order to maintain this new slavery. Please call or write your federal representatives and let them know your concern.

Charles T. Joyner

Poquoson, Va.