LETTER: Mixed-up world needs you to help fix it

It seems history is repeating itself. About 100 years ago, my grandparents fled Norway in search of a better life. Norway was, and is, a very expensive place to live. They came through Ellis Island. I recently learned that my grandfather paid off grandma’s indentureship — she had agreed to work to pay for her passage.

They worked hard. Grandpa ran a neighborhood grocery store in Aberdeen, South Dakota. They lived in a small apartment in the back. My father became a Norwegian Lutheran minister. I was raised in “Lake Wobegon,” Wisconsin. We were free-range kids. The authorities would have been called. I found I had to work hard and be frugal to survive. That is still true.

At times it appears the “American Dream” has turned into a nightmare. All of our institutions are out of control. The almighty dollar rules. We have become slaves to corporations that demand we perform well for as little as they can get by with.

We’ve been led to believe that we must have a college degree. The college fund is started when the child is in the womb.

We pay people big bucks to take care of our young and old.

I could go on and on. We need to get back to basics.

We need to take care of ourselves as best we can, take some responsibility and not be so quick to blame. Seems the computers get the blame for most screw-ups these days.

Be good to one another and help when you see a need. It feels good to do things for others. I’m trying to make the world a better place. Please help any way you can.

Thanks for reading. Peace and love. —Pete Skibsrud, Kalispell