It's Personal

A lot of people roll their eyes or snicker when I mention that I have emailed, written, or called someone in a governmental agency.  And I am doing it with greater and greater regularity.  "Oh - there goes that whack-o again!"

I really do believe that many (most?) people live their lives in oblivion to the part government and politics plays in their day-to-day existence.  "Why do you care about the health care bill being passed?"  "Virtual fence?  Who cares?!?"  etc, etc, etc.

This is from Merriam Webster:

Entry: de·moc·ra·cy

Pronunciation: \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural de·moc·ra·cies

Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy

Date: 1576

1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2 : a political unit that has a democratic government
3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States Democracy — C. M. Roberts>
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

See...that's where I thought I lived...in a democracy.  Where the power was vested in the people.  And then I discovered that "people" was a title given only to lobbyists.

A lot of the eye-rollers claim we have become a socialist country since Obama's election.  Let me tell you - I visited Poland post Soviet Union.  I saw a people who were clueless about how to care for themselves, having lived under socialism for generations.  Personal responsibility never occurred to many Poles.  In my experience, this is not where the US is currently headed.  But that is not my point.

I call members of Congress to vote in support of health care because it is personal with me.  Since January 1 of this year, our co-pays on medication have risen from $15/prescription to a minimum of $50...and up to $100 for a month of medications.  And hubby and I both take multiple medications per day.  We are unable to switch providers, due to pre-existing conditions.  So - either health care is reformed, or I just discontinue the meds, have a stroke or heart attack, and get out of everyone's hair.  Congress' choice.

The "virtual fence" as we call it, is another personal matter.  I live on an island on the norther border.  Since the Texan has left the White House, the Department of Homeland Security has noticed that there are, indeed, two borders to the United States, and each presents a totally different set of problems.  DHS calls their current "fix" to the northern border the "Remote Video Surveillance System".  Big towers with electronic "stuff" on top.

At first I thought these were just a waste of taxpayer dollars.  Another toy to make us believe we are safe from terrorists (although I defy anyone to interpret the data collected during the annual Jobbie Nooner...)  Then they activated the "stuff".  Cellphone reception - lost.  FM radio - massive interference.  The other day, hubby was flying his RC model airplane in a location about mid-way between two of the towers.  Unexplained loss of radio reception and crash.  This might seem trivial.  (In fact, if you saw how many other model planes he has in the garage, I might agree with you.)  But then we started to connect the dots.  This loss of reception is something that has never happened before.  The towers?

Mind you...as islanders, we were never asked either our opinion or permission for the towers.  We weren't even told ahead of time they were coming.  And now, no one seems willing to talk about what other kind of transmissions may be emitted from the "stuff" and how it may affect us physically.  Until I get an answer...until I know...it's personal...and I will continue to write and call and others can roll their eyes and smirk.

And then thank me when my circumstances become theirs, and they realize it's personal for them as well.

Not being Irish, I don't "do" St. Patrick's Day. As the child of an alcoholic father, the thought of multitudes of people having an excuse to drink copious amounts of green beer and drive drunk is not all that appealing.

So I spent the early part of the morning searching for something to post to my Facebook page tomorrow. (Stick with me - this is as circuitous as it gets!) Among my Facebook friends are many women who are either artists or artisans. This being International Women's Month, I googled for a video of the song "Bread and Roses". It was originally a poem, written to support a strike of women in the textile industry in the early part of the 20th century, and later set to music. As I struggle with my own inner artist, one segment particularly appeals to me:

Our lives shall not be sweated
From birth until life closes.
Hearts starve as well as bodies.
Give us bread but give us roses.

Still with me?

After listening to several versions, I came across the one you will hear below. Listen hard - around the end of minute 2. The part about health care. I was initially annoyed that they had tampered with the original words, earlier in that verse. Then I heard why, and approved whole-heartedly.

And now my point: (phew!...right?) The chorus singing the song is Jewish. Since I became "politically aware" in the 60s, I have had the perception that American Judaism generally stands on the side of those who are oppressed in society. (Note well...I said American Judaism!) As does my own Roman Catholic Church. We call it The Fundamental Option For the Poor, and it is firmly founded in Roman Catholic theology. Roman Catholics are by far the largest Christian denomination in the United States. Yet, listening to the news and their disproportionate amount of coverage on all things political, one would think Evangelicals were. And frankly, they preach something that I don't even recognize as Christian!

I don't want to be lumped in with these people! I don't want non-religious people to think that Christianity is "one size fits all", with Evangelicals providing the "size".

My Church supports universal healthcare. How do I get this message out?

Oh. Maybe I just did!