Clearing The Treo Prematurely
As some of you already know, my goal for this year is to write a weekly letter to someone in power to tell them what I want. Bitching on a blog is all fine and well, but I can’t assume that the CEO of Circuit City will drop by here to watch me complain… And so I must go out of my way to register my displeasure via actual letters.
This week, however, I found something done so right that I instead sent a letter of congratulations.
Dear Senator Brown:
Most of the letters you receive, I’m led to believe, are for negative things – telling you that you’ve voted for the wrong bill, or said the wrong thing.
This letter is to congratulate you on something you’ve done right.
I’ve only just become aware of the “Homes for Heroes” Act of 2007 (S.1084) thanks to a friend. But when I looked it up to see whether I would need to implore you to support it, I found that you were one of the initial co-sponsors of the bill.
I can ask no more of you as a Senator. It’s lovely that I can write to you to request that you do something for the greater good… But it’s even better to discover that you’re already working, quietly, to help the men and women who are being asked by our President to fight this war.
Sincerely,
Me
At my house
In a location not listed on the front page of my blog
In case you’re wondering, I first heard about this from an LJ post here, in a bill co-sponsored by Barack Obama (my current choice for Prez). The “Homes for Heroes” act will attempt to provide low-income housing for grievously poor veterans to help them out.
I’m against the war in general (even as a pullout doesn’t seem much more appetizing at this point), but it’s usually the poor bastards at the front line who get eaten up when they get home. The VA hospitals are in poor shape, the military is loathe to categorize anyone as actually needing assistance, and the situation doesn't appear to be improving in Iraq in the near future. Comparatively speaking, it’s a trivial number of casualties compared to, say, Vietnam or WWII or (God forbid) the Civil War….
…but still. These people thought they could do some good for this world and their country, and they volunteered to put themselves in danger to do it. If we repay that by leaving them out in the cold when they return, we’ve not only done a disservice to the vets, but we’ve sent a message to other potential soldiers that the government does not have your back once you’re out of the army.
Thus, I’m big on veterans’ aid – mainly because the Republicans don’t have to (everyone knows they love the soldiers and Amurrrica and apple pie, so they never have to do anything to prove it!) and the Democrats won’t get credit if they do, so it’s an issue that needs a lot of prodding.
If you think it’s a good idea… Write your own Senator. It only takes a few seconds. And hell, if you think it’s a bad idea, write ‘em, too. This is America, and I’d like every voice to count.
Message ends.
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