Dear Elected Official:

I’d bet twenty dollars I’ve had more conversations over coffee in the last four years with more of my American neighbors than any one of you, or perhaps all of you put together.

America wants to have a word with you.

Put on jeans, a flannel shirt, and boots. Take a long drive. You need to meet the people you claim to represent.

Can you locate America? You’ve convinced my American neighbors you couldn’t find it if your life depended on it.

Stop in diners and truck stops. Ride a few thousand miles talking to truck drivers on the CB radio. Don’t tell anyone who you are. Get people talking. Then keep your mouth shut and listen real close to what they say.

Ask them what they think of men who grant permission to cut down the great trees of our national forests. Stand at the base of a redwood. Press your body close to it. Try to wrap your mind around the hundreds of years it has lived. Imagine putting a sharpened chain saw to your Granddaddy’s knees.

Ask any of my American neighbors what happens when oil drilling begins taking place in unspoiled wilderness. Ask them what they think about the men who would allow this to happen.

Ask the common man what he thinks of NAFTA.

Spend a day in the V.A. hospital visiting the vets. Let them counsel you on waging war.

Ask the common man what he thinks of the oil business. Ask him who he thinks really runs this country.

Look in the mirror. Can you look yourself in the eye and explain how you can turn your back on the people of this country? Is it because no one in your family has hit a lick at a snake in over three generations because they’ve been living off the government payroll? Or is it really as simple as big business’s big money turning you into a spineless shell of a man who can’t figure out a way to say “No” to payoffs which cause you to always manage to make things easy for your patrons and more difficult for your constituents?

Do you have any idea of what it’s like to walk in a working man’s shoes?

Ask my American neighbors what they think of career politicians whose only purpose is to get themselves elected.

My American neighbors and I aren’t perfect. But we are America.

See if you can dig up a copy of the Declaration of Independence. I’ll send you a copy if you can’t find one. Read it closely. Do you understand why it was written? Which side of that document are you on? Those of us out here in America know which side you’re on — we just wonder if you can figure it out.

Brush up on this country’s history. Can you determine how this country began?

Does the idea of being a leader ever cross your mind?

What does sacred honor mean to you?

(Editor’s Note: David Clark has released his new album “Ten.” To order, send $15 plus $4 shipping to Clark CD Orders, P.O. Box 148, Cochran, GA 31014. Visit David Clark’s website: www.outofthesky.com, email him at dclark@outofthesky.com, or write him at the address above.).