Dear Sir or Madame

To the next president of the United States.
Dear Mr(s). President,

I don't know who you are and I can't do much about it except to cast my vote in November but I do have some concerns. Now that you have been elected, I hope you will value the American people and make some changes.
First, I don't know exactly what you can do but hurry up and do it. At this point in time, I don't see things getting much better any time before you take office. So have a plan and just do it.
We need to be able to drive to our jobs and to make a decent wage. The American worker needs to be respected and not just with lip service. You need to encourage companies large and small to keep their work here in our country.
Next, respect the children of this country. Make quality education a must not a goal. Stop the angry criticism of the "system" and the teachers and listen to what experts in child development have to say. Understand that play is children's work up until the age of eight and put fun back in the classroom. Throw away useless testing of young children and save it for when they are in at least the seventh grade. Make highschool education relevant for children so they want to stay in school. Have classes on parenting and balancing a checkbook and how to write a resume and the importance of volunteerism. Have classes on the influences of rock and roll and the Vietnam conflict. Have after school clubs and interest groups so kids can experiment there.
I heard someone say on the news that the real weapon of mass destruction is an eighteen year old with no education and a gun. This is the war you should concern yourself with.
It looks like whoever you are, this country will have a deficit. Make sure it is because we are fixing roads, creating jobs, improving daycare and easing poverty. Make sure that the taxation system is fair. Let the people who make the most money pay the most taxes.
Instill respect for older people. The baby boom generation is not going away any time soon. We are living longer and can contribute a lot to society for a longer period of time. That doesn't mean you should keep upping the retirement age, it means you have a vast army of volunteers who could be mentors to young children and do jobs in hospitals, schools, and businesses that don't require paid employees. Baby boomers get psyched. Remember Woodstock?? The peace rallies?? The right person(I mean YOU) could get us psyched. If we are busy and contributing members of society then the younger generation will have every reason to respect us and not just because we are old. That is a lame excuse. We deserve respect because we are amazing human beings with a lot to offer.
Lastly, please bring home those kids who are at war in Iraq. They are young and have families and parents and little children and wives and husbands. Nobody should have to go there twice. Make the service more attractive with benefits and college scholarships so that the armed forces can be maintained but don't engage in an armed conflict. It is counterproductive to send our best and most willing to serve off to die.
I know I am probably idealistic but someone has to be. You should be. I know it won't be a piece of cake to fix all these things but I know it can be done because we want it to be done. And you should do it.

Respectfully yours,