Choose Your World

What kind of world do you want to live in? A world where most people are employed and feel secure in their homes? Or a world where a few unbelievably wealthy elites live lives of extraordinary luxury while the majority struggle to pay the rent? A world where most people can get a decent education, giving them the opportunity to get modern jobs? Or one where the majority of people have no education beyond basic reading and simple arithmetic, and are suited only for difficult, menial jobs?

Would you prefer a world where mentally ill people get treatment, or one where they live and die in the streets? A world where elderly people, who have worked and paid taxes all their lives, receive the care they deserve in their final years, or one where they are cut off from food and medical care, and allowed to starve and die miserable deaths?

Do you want to live in a world where science, medicine, and technology continue to advance and make our lives better, or one in which progress stops (and maybe goes backwards)? Do you want your tax money to support programs that benefit you and your neighbors, or do you want your money to support gold-plated mansions, yachts, and fancy vacations for arrogant aristocrats, while you drive on streets full of potholes and you can't even afford to take your kids to the local amusement park?

Would you like to look at blue skies while you breathe fresh air, or would you like the view to be hidden by yellow clouds of chemicals that make you choke? Do you want to drink clean water, or would you rather be poisoned? Do you like the current world where most people in this country have a life expectancy of more than 80 years, or would you like to go back to the days when the majority died before age 50?

Do you want your children and grandchildren to have a great future? Or do you want them to live lives of fear and misery?

The first kind of world is the one most of us want. We want decent lives for ourselves and others. The second kind is the one our current Congress is trying to create. They want enormous wealth for themselves and their rich sponsors, and they want ordinary citizens to pay for it. They truly do not care what happens to us. In fact, many of them actually prefer a world in which the population is mostly poor and sick, because people who are suffering and struggling just to live are too weak to fight back.

While we are paying attention to the things the president posts on Twitter, state legislatures are quietly and rapidly introducing hundreds of bills that would make life much worse for normal people, while handing over yet more wealth and power to people who already have everything. The majority of people in Congress do not represent the people who voted for them. They represent the wealthy business people who pay them.

It doesn’t matter what party you belong to, where you live, what your background is. These people do not care about your interests. They will say they do, but then they will vote for laws that hurt you and help only the one percent. The only hope of stopping them is to call them and tell them that what they are doing is wrong, explain that they will no longer get your votes, and then vote against them when they run for re-election. Get rid of these people who use your money to live luxurious lives at the same time your life gets worse. Forget party loyalty. Be loyal to yourself, your family, and your neighbors.

---

Resources:

• GovTrack will help you find the names and numbers of your representatives. Just enter your zip code.
• 5 Calls suggests some issues of interest and will guide you through the process of making calls.
• This government website links to information for federal, state, and local officials.