Dear Mitt;
May I call you Mitt? After all, you’re not really earning my respect these days. The first name will have to do.
Microphones off or on, Mitt, you must think about what you say. Or maybe, just maybe, you really did think about that statement. That’s what scares me. It was, after all, full of your favorite terms. It had a number – a percent, no less! It described a segment of the population that you see as beneath you, which showed clearly in your choice of words. Let’s see.
-dependent on governmentÂ
Mitt, I work in the public sector. Does that make me dependent on government? My children attended public schools, and my daughter attended a state university. If that makes us dependent on government, then I guess we fit the profile. By the way, your perception of middle income? Way, way high. We ordinary public school teachers don’t even dream of reaching your estimate of $250,000.
-think they are victims
No, Mitt, I’m not a victim. I’ve been through a lot in the recent past, including a long (unpaid) medical leave from my job (see above). I’m a disabled adult and I wear two hearing aids, but I’m not a victim, Mitt. I’m a survivor. .
-entitled to health care
Health care, Mitt, is a right, not a privilege. Here’s where we differ. No one should have to wait seven months to see a specialist. No one should have to turn down a necessary prescription because it’s a Tier 3 and the co-pay is too high. No one should have to turn down medicine in order to buy food. Which brings me to —
-entitled to food
What exactly are you saying? That people should starve? Have you ever watched a child wolf down his school-funded breakfast on Monday morning because he hasn’t eaten all weekend? No, I didn’t think so. Or – maybe you did mean that hunger doesn’t exist, much less actually matter. (Uh, Mitt? That “Let them eat cake” quote wasn’t really Marie, but she lost her head over it. America still has peasants who have no bread, make no doubt about it.)
-entitled to housing
Once again – are you saying that a home is optional? Home doesn’t have to be fancy. An apartment, a room in a shelter, space in a relative’s basement – housing takes many forms, as does homelessness. Mitt, I’ve seen it firsthand. Have you? Frankly, having a roof over one’s head is not optional.
“My job is not to worry about those people.”
Really? If you don’t worry about them, who will? We public school teachers (you know, the ones that Scottie-in-Madison calls Thugs) worry about our students. We worry about their families, and we worry about the village that raises them. It’s a village where we worry about each other, and then we take action. If you’re not worrying, I’m sure you’ll take no actions that might make a difference to anyone on your list. A list, by the way, that includes nearly half of the voters in the United States.
No wonder those voters stick with Barack Obama. It’s not because we’re entitled, but because President Obama has earned our respect. And that, Mitt, makes him entitled to another four years in office.
Daisy,
You certainly are a persuasive and outstanding writer. There is so much mudslinging and Half truths in this election I have quit listening. My hunting partner and I are voting absentee and spending the entire election day in the woods in peace and quiet.
Two examples of errors are this.
1. You said that you cannot afford to financially aid candidates, and huts give of your time. You forget that your Union dues support a well oiled PAC. So you are giving!
2. Mitt was attacked yesterday for going to France to avoid the draft during the Viet Nam conflict. Mitt was on a church mission. A perfectly acceptable deferment. Two of my children served similar missions. Just saying.
Interesting – I don’t see a reference to either of your statements in this post.
Every example I’ve cited is true; I have either lived it or seen it.
Mitt’s words are direct quotes.
Mine were just general comments. I made the first one because you have no idea how much you contribute. Every time you teach a child to read you contribute.
The 2nd comment was from a pundit I was listening to as I was driving for work.
His ignorance and arrogance is jaw-dropping.
Society, community, village…whatever you use to call the local world we live in is based on the premise that life is better when we help each other. No one is an island…we all rely on each other. We liberals are not against making money but we do believe in helping each other. Workers being fairly treated with at least a living wage, investors able to make a profit but not at the expense of the workers, governmental programs that provide services to help elevate the standard of living for all, a democracy that listens to the voice of all the people not to the voice of only the big corporations and rich.