Series of choices

Dear Editor,

Life is a series of choices and consequences. The crazed gunman in Tuscon, Ariz., Jan. 8, 2011, must not have evaluated very carefully what the outcome would be of his actions.

Good leaders are valuable. It takes courage and dedication to run for office and to serve. The stress connected with it is very great at times. Every U.S. president has had the need to go to a special location to escape the pressures of the job. Their lives are open to criticism. The Secret Service is always nearby.

According to AARP Magazine, January-February 2011, George W. Bush is happily retired. However he is doing more than walking his two Scottish terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley. His biggest regret is not finding bin Laden.

John Adams, the second president, spent some gloomy years after he lost against Thomas Jefferson, when running for a second term. His frustrations were eased by working from dawn to dusk on his farm at Quincy, Mass. He did confide to a friend, however, that maybe he should have been a shoemaker instead of a U.S. president.

Dire consequences were predicted during Jefferson's time in office. Yet, history indicates that much progress took place. A rough spot in the road took place when his relationship with Sally Hemmings, a slave woman, became public. She reportedly gave birth to seven of his children (Two died in infancy).

Alexander Hamilton was a terrific secretary of the treasury; unfortunately, he made a bad choice when he manipulated the electoral votes in hopes of becoming president. In 1804, he was killed by Aaron Burr in a duel over a married woman.

References: AARP Magazine Jan.-Feb. 2011 pp 30-33. John Adams by David McCulllough 2001. p.p. 570, 579, 580, 586.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Nebraska