An Open Letter to Washington on America’s 230th Birthday

Dear Elected Officials in Washington DC.

Kindly remember on this, America’s birthday, that there was a piece of paper signed (technically, but y’all are all about the technical), that declared the United States free from monarchy. Please do not try to make us a monarchy again. We’ve already had experience with a tyrant, determining taxes and abrogating rights, we do not need another.
Remember, you are elected. That means you are chosen by the American people to follow THEIR will, not make the public follow yours. The state of your employment, for yes you are employed by the people as representatives of the government, is at will, renewable in cycles determined by yet another piece of paper.
I believe, as an American citizen, that you seem to treat the public as sheep to be led about by the nose. I humbly and respectfully call bullshit.
There is a illegal war going on, wasting precious dollars that could be used to improve the public’s standard of living. Unemployment/difficulty in finding employment that pays enough to live on is a problem. Occupying a country without any evidence of terrorist activities/weapons is a problem. Having citizens go without insurance or medical attention because their job doesn’t pay enough to cover that plus housing plus transportation plus food and clothing is a problem. Not raising the minimum wage $2 per hour but giving yourselves a $3000/year raise (for what may I ask? You have excellent insurance and a guaranteed pension.) Cost of living? Bah. A $100 check to everybody in America does NOT constitute a cost of living increase in wages. or even covers the cost of increased gas prices.

Worrying about illegal immigration, WMDs, gay marriage and flag burning does not help the country. Improving the lot of the working class-you know the ones who build your houses, clean your houses, build your cars, take care of your children, etc.-would do wonders.

A few ideas to ponder:

• A Living wage for the minimum wage. Where people could afford housing, a decent car/transportation, food and health insurance and still have money left over each paycheck.
• Fix the bloody mess in Iraq. We have Saddam Hussein in custody and there are NO WMDs anywhere in Iraq, yet we seem to be making Iraq into a client state.
• Instead of revoking Roe vs Wade, why not teach the children that birth control is good in any form, be it condoms or the pill or even the morning after pill.
• Medicine in and of itself does not have morals. It is those who use it that attach moral weight to drugs. Thus, pharmacists do not have the right to deny somebody a LEGALLY prescribed drug merely because of ethical/moral beliefs. If they do have a problem, well, help the patient find another pharmacist who WILL fill their prescription.
• Find a way to wean ourselves off of foreign oil. That does not mean drill in ANWR or more oil rigs in the Gulf. It means funding research to find new sources of energy like finding a practical, cost effective method of refining hydrogen, or a cheaper way of manufacturing solar panels that can power entire houses. Wind power is a good idea in many areas as well.
• Bowing to big corpoartions like the telecoms and media companies regarding the Internet and copyrights versus fair use and network neutrality and the American public does NOT work. The Internet is supposed to be an easy way to communicate with others over long distances, not a goldmine for companies who want to control what people see, do or hear.

In conclusion, I and many other citizens and residents of America request that y’all get your heads out your asses and do your job that we elected you to do and not whatever you seem to want to do.

Signed,

A Loyal American Citizen