Politics is Personal!
The other day, I got a bill from the doctor because my health insurance company decided that it wasn’t going to pay the full bill. I don’t know why this is yet, but at the time I was really pissed off. This is the second time (and second health insurance company) that screwed us. In any case, I posted a comment about this situation on my facebook account.
When I made my personal frustration into my political opinion that the health insurance system in this country needs to be reformed, a Republican friend commented that it is now a personal issue for me, but that now isn’t the time to make it a political issue. While my wife explained to me that he was just showing his personal support for me without having to get into the argument, I still think it speaks about how people view politics.
It is easy for politicians in Washington or in state capitals to lose sight of the fact that all politics is personal. Those in the media and the various political pundits also forget. But the fact is political issues effect people personally. Whether we have an option for insurance without the big insurance companies affects people’s lives. Millions of lives are being affected every day because of politics. Many of the people who get involved in politics do so to serve those in their community.
I find that Republicans tend to loose sight of this fact much more than Democrats do. Once a politician (Democrat or Republican) is in Washington for a long time, they too loose sight of this fact. While this is not always the case, it is certainly a trend.
Americans have to remind our elected representatives that their decisions affect people’s lives and that they don’t work for the big corporations. They work for us. They serve at our discretion.
Republicans like to rail against “The Government” but the fact is that “We the people” are the government. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Americans can call or e-mail our representatives, institute or take part in local letter writing campaigns, and we can show up at our representative’s events. The most effective way to get our representatives to pay attention is to make an appointment and meet with them personally. It helps to have a self-made hand out to give them at the end of the conversation with key points.
The government only has the power that we the people give to them. Today, with the internet it is becoming easier and easier for constituents to organize and let their representatives know that we might sit home or vote for the opposition if we are not taken seriously. Of course, the opposition (the Republicans) are getting crazier and crazier. So that is a concern. But we can let incumbent Democrats know that we will support any primary challenger if they don’t take our interests into account.
Filed under: healthcare, Political Activism, Politics
