When Gov. Mario Cuomo delivered his keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, he made an important statement regarding our democracy, our work ethic, our obligation to make it a better world for our children, and our government's obligation to protect us when we are unable to protect ourselves.
His words were as follows: "I learned about our kind of democracy from my father. I learned about our obligation to help each other from him and from my mother. They asked only for a chance to work and to make the world better for their children and to be protected in those moments when they would not be able to protect themselves. This nation and its government did that for them."
Thirty years later, New York took a giant step backward when our current governor, Andrew Cuomo, succeeded in persuading a majority of our citizens to vote in favor of his proposed constitutional amendment to establish Las Vegas-style gambling casinos in New York. In contrast to his father, our current governor promoted the gambling ethic rather than the work ethic. In contrast to his father, our current governor chose to make it a worse place for our children rather than a better place for our children. In contrast to his father who protected the middle class when we were unable to protect ourselves, our current governor chose to join the gambling industry in exploiting and preying upon the most vulnerable members of our society.
In contrast to his father who made it a better world for all our citizens, our current governor made it easier and more convenient for us to squander our earnings in upstate gambling parlors where we can lose the money we need for food, clothing, and shelter.
We need to ask our governor to make the world a better place for our children.
Peter G. Sokaris
Albany