A simple letter to the editor that could get you killed in some countries. But this is America.

By Verne Strickland / December 1, 2012

I've been critical many times of the political drift of coverage in the STAR-NEWS of Wilmington, NC -- our hometown daily paper.

Too liberal, ignores the conservative side of issues, doesn't do enough stories on skinny people. But I've got to confess a slight course correction on my part. Actually I'm seeing a more balanced perspective from the paper, part of the HALIFAX MEDIA GROUP.

I still gripe about the selection of stories, and the spin on some of those that do make the cut. But I've seen worse times for conservative readers and chronic curmudgeons like me. 

On the editorial pages, there's a fair variety of responsible commentators -- conservative, moderate, and liberal. Also, Letters to the Editor offer some very valuable nuggets of wisdom, direct from the citizens of our community. I like to pirate one every now and then for use with attribution in my blog -- USA DOT COM. The ones I do post are invariably on the conservative side.

Here's a recent letter written by a reader in Wilmington. It was titled, "Government too big." You gotta know that caught my eye. I was not disappointed. Here's the letter:

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Here are some sobering facts for those of you that support the liberal agenda of more spending and bigger government: One hundred years ago government spending was 2 percent of the Gross National Product. Over the last 50 years, government spending has averaged 20.2 percent of GNP, while revenue collected by the government has trended around 18.1 percent, regardless of the top tax rate. 

It should be clear to even the most ideological leftists that this imbalance of spending and revenue is unsustainable. As some great philosopher once said, there is no free lunch. 

Our nation has ignored this irrefutable fact and is rapidly going broke. Our great wealth and large middle class was built on free-market principles, capitalism and limited government. Since the mid-1960s we have systematically attacked the free market and capitalism with onerous and ever increasing regulations and look to replace this great engine of economic growth with bigger and bigger government – a government that is increasingly oppressive to individual liberty.

Is a growing, centralized and more powerful government what our founders envisioned for our nation or what they so valiantly fought against?

Peter A. Cerra Sr., Wilmington

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Pretty good, huh? I like that. Voice of the people, straight from the heart, unedited, unedited, unvarnished. 

There are a lot of countries today where an expression like this against the government would get you killed. We have to think about that to realize the kind of nation we are blessed to call home. How we compare to others. 

President Obama and liberal Democrats in Washington don't seem comfortable with a country like this. They campaign incessantly for bigger government, less accountability, higher taxes, crippling deficits, suffocating regulations, world government, turning our future over to the United Nations, shackling our fighting military, weakening U.S. defenses, and turning a blind eye to the wanton murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.

And, lest we forget, they seen bent upon throwing God out of Washington and most everywhere else.

Friends, as I sit here writing this, I am shaking my head at the madness Obama has introduced to America. Each day brings another nasty surprise. It has to stop.

Some patriotic Americans, who say they have been pushed to the limit, talk of extreme measures. Right now it's just talk.