I know in the past you have told me that you want letters to represent the thinking of the local population. I can see your point, but I am also very much concerned with the national scene and I think most of the people in Federal Way are, too.

I wonder if you have made up your mind about who you will vote for in the coming election. I suppose most of you have, but for those of you who might still be thinking about it, let me see if I can give you some help.

Have you traveled much around the world? I suppose not. Most of us have not. Have you talked with many people who are here from other countries? Yes, I am sure you have. And what is it that you learn from these conversations? It seems that all of the rest of the world wants to come to live in the United States.

And why is that? Well, it is simple. We have many faults, but in spite of that, we have the best standard of living in the world. No wonder everyone wants to live here. So what makes us so special? Since we live here, it is sometimes easy to forget what makes our system work. We have capitalism along with the freedom to make it work.

The other major system, socialism, never works. Capitalism tends to make everyone equal — at the top. Socialism tends to make every one equal — at the bottom. If I have a choice, I know which one I prefer. The coming presidential election gives us our choice. We can vote for the man who wants us all to be at the bottom or we can vote for the man who wants us all to be at the top.

Clearly, my choice is Mitt Romney.

Leo J. Thoennes, Federal Way