There is a lot to learn from the New England Patriots. Individually, almost none of them are Hall of Fame-type guys. As a team, they are unstoppable.
Coach Bill Belichick said after the Super Bowl that the Pats won because each of his players was willing to put the team first.
The Pats' sacrifices didn't just take place on the field. Quarterback Tom Brady, for example, renegotiated his contract with the team to give coach Belichick more funds to attract quality players.
The value of teamwork and self-sacrifice are not always so respected in America. In the pages of newspapers, we read about corporate leaders who are paid tens of millions of dollars, even as they lay off workers, ship jobs overseas, mislead their shareholders and rip off taxpayers. Enron. Worldcom. Halliburton.
Unfortunately, obvious cheating is just the tip of the iceberg. President George Bush's tax cuts, targeted to give the super-wealthy even more money, are worse. Poor, working and middle-class children will be paying for them for years to come.
Democrats believe that the Patriots are wiser than Bush. Tom Brady may have made less money this year, but he and his team won the Super Bowl. Similarly, by investing in each other, and by requiring everyone to pay their fair share, we can create a country that is better for all of us.
I have been a Democrat all my life. The Democratic National Committee says Democrats "use government as a catalyst to engage the best ideas and energies of the American people." We all contribute, and we are all better off as a result.
Over the past few years, we have seen what happens when a president believes that building community is less important than cutting taxes for the super-wealthy. Unlike the Pats, whose self-sacrifice brought them success after success, this president has watched as 2.5 million jobs have disappeared.
George W. Bush embodies a go-it-alone philosophy that is totally different from the teamwork of the Pats. In this year's Super Bowl of politics, there is just one thing to say: Go, Dems. Go, Pats.
AVI GREEN
Windsor Street
