Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor executed for his efforts in the Nazi resistance during World War II, once said, ``the ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.'' These are timeless words that resonate deeply today as our Nation struggles to confront our growing national debt. The release this week of President Obama's fiscal year 2011 budget projects a deficit of nearly $1.6 trillion, equivalent to 10.6 percent of economic output. I am convinced that addressing ballooning debt is not only an economic issue, but there is also a moral component to this issue that goes to the heart of who we are as Americans. Yet I wonder if we in Congress, America's political leaders, have lost the will to make the tough decisions necessary, decisions that could well require sacrifice. The generation of Americans who came of age during the era of Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been affectionately called the Greatest Generation. Many of them have made unimaginable sacrifices, including their lives, for their children and their children's children. If we remember the legacy that we've inherited, the giants on whose shoulders we stand, I believe we, too, can be moved to do our duty. It will not be easy, but that which is worth doing rarely is.
Editor's note · Context
The speaker addresses the moral implications of the national debt and the need for tough decisions in Congress.
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