This is a letter I sent to my Senator today: Dear Senator, I can't sleep. It's 0430 hours and I'm watching the early international news. The USD has slipped against nearly every other currency. The Asian markets are down. The Euro markets are down. The U.S. bond markets are holding, but not for long, the economist predicts. Next up, it's a matter of when, not if, Moody's and the S&P downgrade our credit rating. Downgrade our credit rating... think about that, Mr. Senator. Our great nation, the leader of the free world. Our nation, that led this world into the industrial age, that built great railroads across an entrie continent at great sacrifice to its own people. Our nation, that built an auto industry unlike any seen before; that built monumental bridges and dams, towering cities and highways systems. Our great nation that was given an impossible challenge and landed a man on the moon! Soon, this great nation, the United States of America, will be seen as a country with a government that is so dysfunctional, so broken, that it cannot even pay our bills or agree on a path out of a financial mess of our own making. I'm angry and I'm frustrated. I'm frightened for myself and for the millions of American workers who will undoubtedly continue to lose jobs, who will lose savings and their homes in the months to come. I'm frightened for the millions of the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the veterans and the children who, without a voice in Washington, will lose the lifeline that literally keeps them afloat. I fear that Americans are losing faith in the ability of our elected leaders to lead. Most of all, I fear we are losing faith in America, itself. Losing faith in the American dream. What do I hope for, Mr. Senator? A return to the idea of compromise for the good of the country. I hope our legislators will put the welfare of the American people above all else and do the work they were sent to Washington to do, no matter how difficult the task. I am willing to share the burden, sir. I am willing to sacrifice. Will Congress do the same?