Well, the political wars are well underway and I don't like them -- from either side. But one in particular that bothers me is criticism of Mitt Romney for having succeeded in business and providing well for his family. Yes, he's rich ... yes, he's probably "out of touch" with people who have a lot less, but does that make him a bad person or any different from the rest of us?

Hasn't he achieved what most of us aspire to achieve? It doesn't matter to what party you belong but I don't believe anyone should be criticized for getting ahead in life. I'm sure there are people who are less fortunate than my husband and I. Should we be criticized for having saved and planned to have the life we now enjoy because others do not?

My husband and I are not rich, but we are comfortable. That has come from years of consistent work, planning and saving. We have Social Security, into which we paid every month for years, and now it's paying back to us ... we earned it ... it is not an entitlement. We contribute, when we can, to organizations that assist the underprivileged.

I was widowed in 1993 and my husband became a widower years earlier. Between us we have 16 children and both families paid for each child from birth to adulthood without any public assistance. Neither of our medical insurance plans covered maternity. It never would have crossed our minds that we should not be responsible for the expenses of those births.

But, there are people who just do not want to plan and help themselves, people who expect others to bail them out when they're in financial trouble. Those people, not wanting to help themselves, also resent that others, like ourselves, have done so believing they should share what the rest of us have earned. Sorry, I do not ascribe to that thinking.

Our forefathers and the majority of people who come over from Mexico and other countries do so because they aspire to create a better life for themselves and their families. Has that now become an unpatriotic attribute to achieve? Is it now unpatriotic to want to better ourselves financially?

Most parents want their children to have a better education than themselves so that those children will be well prepared to achieve their desires in this American society. Is it becoming an incorrect political theology to want to advance your life here in America? Isnt that why so many, from other countries, come to America?

I pray that the American Dream never implodes. May God continue to bless America.