Gimme the Hope! Gimme the Change!
I was down for hope. And I was certainly up for change! It was in the spirit of “Yes, We Can” I geared up with voter registration cards and Barrack Obama literature and hit the streets two summers ago. Optimism flowed from my every pore.
But flash forward a year and a half and I feel like the kid at the carnival who throws his hardest pitch at the propped up platter, only to learn after the fact that the plate is made of plastic and he just wasted his five bucks on balls instead of enjoying a sugary funnel cake.
I have a kid running around with no health insurance because she doesn’t qualify for Medicaid, her job doesn’t offer it to part-timers and university plans are still too expensive and offer the equivalent of catastrophic coverage only.
While I am fortunate to have a job, I feel a certain amount of “survivor guilt” because the majority of my highly qualified and certainly educated friends do not.
I stand in line at the grocery store with families who are putting back staple items because they don’t have enough money to cover the final bill. There have been a few times I’ve covered the shortage out of the aforementioned survivor guilt. Call it the Shop N Save Bailout Program.
So, no. I am not pleased with the administration I campaigned for, voted for and trusted to put a cover over me and my fellow man. The promises have remained largely unfulfilled and, while I find President Obama to be a dynamic personality and enjoyable speaker, I can’t proudly slap a “Yes, We Did” bumper sticker on my ride.
But, it’s not too late! If I speak out about my personal hopes and changes someone will hear. If you and I, as citizens and humans, voice our dissatisfaction with current domestic policy and the fact that our military still occupies Iraq, we will be heard.
My voice alone is loud but if we speak together it will be stronger. If ten of us join forces and voices we will be noticed. If one hundred mouths speak the same words we will rattle windows. A thousand yells will prompt action and a million shouts cannot be ignored.
I will not be ignored. ARE YOU WITH ME?
But flash forward a year and a half and I feel like the kid at the carnival who throws his hardest pitch at the propped up platter, only to learn after the fact that the plate is made of plastic and he just wasted his five bucks on balls instead of enjoying a sugary funnel cake.
I have a kid running around with no health insurance because she doesn’t qualify for Medicaid, her job doesn’t offer it to part-timers and university plans are still too expensive and offer the equivalent of catastrophic coverage only.
While I am fortunate to have a job, I feel a certain amount of “survivor guilt” because the majority of my highly qualified and certainly educated friends do not.
I stand in line at the grocery store with families who are putting back staple items because they don’t have enough money to cover the final bill. There have been a few times I’ve covered the shortage out of the aforementioned survivor guilt. Call it the Shop N Save Bailout Program.
So, no. I am not pleased with the administration I campaigned for, voted for and trusted to put a cover over me and my fellow man. The promises have remained largely unfulfilled and, while I find President Obama to be a dynamic personality and enjoyable speaker, I can’t proudly slap a “Yes, We Did” bumper sticker on my ride.
But, it’s not too late! If I speak out about my personal hopes and changes someone will hear. If you and I, as citizens and humans, voice our dissatisfaction with current domestic policy and the fact that our military still occupies Iraq, we will be heard.
My voice alone is loud but if we speak together it will be stronger. If ten of us join forces and voices we will be noticed. If one hundred mouths speak the same words we will rattle windows. A thousand yells will prompt action and a million shouts cannot be ignored.
I will not be ignored. ARE YOU WITH ME?
posted by SJM at 10:19 PM
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