Dear Editor,

We, the U.S.A., have reached a cultural and economic tipping point, the recent school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the recent killing of Chris Stevens, ambassador in Lybia, the refusal of our former Secretary of State to take full and unconditional responsibility for insufficient security at many U. S. diplomatic residences and embassies around the world.

Plus the display of absolute dysfunction within the legislative branch of our government, which the whole world can easily see. And our dysfunctional national government has not shown any interest in starting to arrest our descent into the darkness of a bottomless pit.

It cannot be left to the politicians to voluntarily give up some of their domestic political power and transfer it to the American people. We must start the process with ourselves, by unlearning all that we have been taught regarding politics since kindergarten.

This is a very difficult task, but those of us who care about the future must try. We may not succeed the first time, we then must try again.

Only then can we have enough courage to take the political power that is rightfully ours from the national government. A miracle it would be. For everyone.

Ray Gattavara, Philosopher

Sumner, Wash.

We’ve reached the tipping point