President Dwight David Eisenhower, a Republican, penned to his brother, Edgar Newton Eisenhower, a letter on November 8, 1954.

“The Federal government cannot avoid or escape responsibilities which the mass of the people firmly believe should be undertaken by it. The political processes of our country are such that if a rule of reason is not applied in this effort, we will lose everything–even to a possible and drastic change in the Constitution. This is what I mean by my constant insistence upon “moderation” in government. Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.”

Was Ike a prophet? Will the grand ole party truly die? Unfortunately, the GOP appears to have an iron grasp on the funds, fears, and future of our feeble nation. Have the masses been so thoroughly duped that they have lost the ability to apply reason? As many of my fellow writers have penned, propositions are arising at every turn now to cause that “drastic change in the Constitution” Ike warned us about over fifty years ago. Must we lose everything just to find reason again? Why must we be left-wing or right-wing, liberal or conservative? What is wrong with healthy reasonable “moderation”?

The republican party, with its republican President and its republican Congress, have spent the last six years attempting to undermine < a href="http://www.ssa.gov/legislation/">social security with its private savings initiatives, useful only to the rich. Congress has ruined our big chance to create positive international alliances through open trade and free borders, losing jobs not only in our country but in those we sought to befriend. Nothing has been done to improve minimum wage in nine years. Child welfare has practically been eliminated by forcing mothers to work two and three jobs to support young children who desperately need an adult at home with them, not an overworked, stressed out, frustrated, absent parent. They need physically and emotionally healthy family members, not culturally alien role models in an impersonal daycare.

“Most of the studies on welfare reform have assessed the financial well-being of those who leave TANF {Temporary Assistance for Needy Families}. Much less is known about the impact of welfare reform on children, yet children represent the largest part of the TANF caseload-5.7 million. We do know that although child poverty rates have declined, the number of children in working families that were poor has grown by more than 650,000.” This quote is from a 2002 report by the Child Welfare League of America. Those of us working in the nation’s schools and living in the nation’s neighborhoods know through personal experience; these children are not getting what all human beings need.

Maslow laid these necessities out in his hierarchy fifty years ago. In order of importance, he tiered them in a pyramid so that those on the bottom, those that came first, were large enough and strong enough to support all the others. The base consists of physiological needs (air, water, food, stable temperature, sex), our physical health. Above that but still primary in importance are security needs (safety, stability, protection, freedom from fear and anxiety), our emotional health. When these are taken care of we seek out love (for family, friends, and community), companionship and caring. The top two levels of the pyramid involve stages many poor never come close to achieving. Self-esteem from status, fame, glory, recognition, attention, reputation, appreciation, dignity, even dominance goes a long way toward establishing an individual as able to work and live in a social society. Self-respect, the upper level, takes esteem further into confidence, competence, achievement, mastery, independence, and freedom, that which enables us to reach out and care about other people.

Without sufficient physical, emotional, and social support, children can turn to gangs for their need fulfillment. Without sufficient support in all areas, how can we ever expect reasonable, patriotic, voting, citizens? When our children don’t even have the bare basics, like food and drink, they are doomed.