A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. for the first time. Among the things that impressed me the most was the WWII Memorial situated between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. As I sat there reflecting I began to think about how are country has changed since WWII. I particularly thought of my grandfather.

Born in 1915 he was eligible to fight in the war, yet stayed home because his services as an airplane designer were needed at a small airplane manufacturer in California he worked for, Northrop. Throughout the war, he once told me, he would get jeers and comments when he would be out with my grandmother for not being out and fighting for the US. He went on to co-create some of the very planes that would help defeat the Nazis

I will never forget how in the last years of his life, having suffered a stroke that left him without the ability to speak, he would still pull out books of the airplanes that he worked on and proudly showed me the fruits of his labors. He never expected a free ride. As the son of a hard working carpenter in Los Angeles he never considered the idea of passing the personal responsibility to hold a job and provide for his family to someone else. He died leaving a modest savings and a house that was paid off long ago to his descendants- a tribute to the work ethic, sacrifice and frugality of his generation. He was a giver not a taker.

As I sat there thinking of these things, I realized America has strayed little by little from those roots that were once so strong. While we once stood for patriotism, sacrifice, God and personal responsibility, the en vogue principles today are asserting your rights and milking the government. Which is why I decided to become involved with Gov. Mitt Romney's unofficial grassroots organization.

I have started a grassroots organization in Illinois that can be found at http://illinoisans4mitt.blogspot.com. It is part of a larger grassroots organization that promotes Mitt Romney for the 2008 presidential election. Mitt Romney on every issue has stressed the personal responsibility of individuals. He said "welfare without work creates negative incentives that lead to permanent poverty. It robs people of self-esteem." Unlike my grandpa who could leave this world with a feeling of satisfaction resulting from his labors, millions of Americans will will not because government has created a system of dependence. Our government has failed it's citizens in this regard.

Romney believes in states right to decide its own fate through the legislature, not judicial order. He is pro-family, pro-life and pro-values. He has created a medical plan that shifts responsibility from the state to the individual and has shown the State of Massachusetts that fiscal budgets need to be balanced without taxing the people.

As voters become more familiar with Romney those attributes that are so desperately needed in our nations leaders will shine through. He will inspire America to a higher cause as Regan did, and promote government agendas that will reduce government and promote a better sense of self-reliance. He has proven he can bring Democrats along with his agenda as is becoming increasingly necessary, while at the same time promoting conservative ideals and the GOP.