Say What?

Question: Do you think the country is going in the right direction?

Dave DeYoung, 36, Spartanburg, SC

Professional driving experience: 1 year

“No. I see a lot of jobs going overseas. I’m not for all of this immigration, either. I’m not prejudiced, but I don’t think it’s good for the country that we let all of these immigrants come in to take more of our jobs.”

Larry Harris, 49, Houston, TX

Professional driving experience: two months

“We’re doing OK. I used to be in the military, an engineer officer. You look at some of the other countries, and we’re still the greatest country there is. Nothing is ever going to be perfect to everyone’s liking. I’m not in favor of the war in Iraq because it seems a little personal to me. I’m ex-military, but the way things are going in the world, I don’t want my 20-year-old son in the service.”

James Ault, 62, Pinefield, TN

Professional driving experience: 30 years

“I don’t have the answers, and I couldn’t straighten things out myself, so I don’t think it’s right for me to criticize, but I’m concerned about our leadership—the president and Congress. There are a lot of issues that have me concerned—the war in Iraq, the economy, homeland security, immigration—but to me, it all comes down to leadership.”

Matt Lewis, 45, Marion, OH

Professional driving experience: 1 year

“Well, we can go on forever about the war and terror and politics, but I’m not going to go there. If I think about it too much, I just get depressed. If I look out into the future and what might happen, I see war and nuclear bombs, so I don’t like to even think about it.”

Merlyn Bender, 62, Canton, OH

Professional driving experience: 30 years

“We’re going to the dogs because of corporate greed. Corporate executives are way overpaid, and they couldn’t care less about the average working man. My wife worked in the payroll department for a big steel company in Canton for 32 years. I figured she’d have a job until she retired. What did they do? They sent her job to India.”