To the editor:
Where to start on this person's diatribe?  I'll just begin with "we are scared and we are angry".  These are two of the worst emotions to have when attempting to make the correct decisions on the issues that confront our country today.  How about "but folks feel betrayed, lied to and manipulated.  They're angry and they want someone to beat the crap out of someone"?  Brilliant!  Pretty much anyone will do, right Mr. Ryan?  "I want a scrapper and I don't care if he offends".  That would certainly be a great diplomatic trait for our next President to have...NOT!  Mr. Ryan claims he can take it.  Sure.  What about those among us who might think a little clearer and remember what happened after the attacks of 9/11.  Instead of doing what we should've done which was to take care of business with Osama bin Laden and his people, George W. Bush decided to let Osama escape (remember he called himself "the decider") to have America invade a country that never attacked or otherwise harmed us, i.e. Iraq.  This was all done by pushing fear and anger.  "Saddam has WMD's and we must over-throw his regime and free the Iraqi people."  No WMD's were ever found that could harm anyone.  Mr. Ryan, just how well did that turn out for us considering all our dead, wounded, and the trillions of dollars that that misplaced action will cost the American people many years into the future?  And that isn't even counting the hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded Iraqi's (and their destroyed country) our country is responsible for (Yes Mr. Ryan, Americans are responsible for all that horror whether you or the rest of the like-minded people want to accept it).  Growing up (I'm now 66 and a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War), I remember hearing and reading about President Franklin Roosevelt saying after the attack on Pearl Harbor:  "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself".  It took until the attacks on 9/11 and the aftermath for me to understand what his point was:  fear (and uncontrolled anger) will get you to make decisions that will turn out to be regrettable.  Fear and anger, Mr. Ryan, are not the tools that good decisions are made.  America must be protected but just "beating the crap out of someone" isn't how to get this enormous task done.  Maybe if America stopped interfering with the affairs of other countries and especially cease over-throwing governments that we don't agree with, that would be a start.  At least the Jihadi's wouldn't have that excuse to attack us.  

 Richard B. Ellenberger,
Normandy Park