Middle Brick Road

Maybe it should go without saying, but he will not get my vote again. Please comment and let me know what your thoughts are.

Verbatim – My letter to President Obama – Sent in November of 2011

Dear President Obama,

It has been nearly twenty years since I have written a letter to the President. My first letter was sent to President Bush Sr., but was responded to with an informal thanks for your opinion post-card from President Clinton. I was only eight or nine, so I was stoked to get a response at all. This time around I expect a real response and I expect this letter to actually be seen by you personally, not just your letter readers. Although the subject of letter I am writing you now, will not be much different from the one I wrote then, the thoughts are no longer that of a small child, but those of a full-grown adult who like many others entered the work force at the tender age of 15. I can assure you that no 15 year-old chooses to work over spending time with their friends, playing sports or engaging in other life enriching activities or just simply focusing on school. Like always though, I did what I had to do to keep clothes on my back and food in my stomach, responsibilities that I should not have had to bear at such a young age. I like many others, have a clear picture of the world around me. It is a place filled with hate, war, greed, failed economic policies and a very corrupt government system that is controlled by the very few rich. It has only become even more powerful and corrupt since my last letter and the innocent daydreams of a child who saw a that a better future could be possible, have morphed into an adult who is taking action along with millions of others across the globe. Mr. President, I stand in solidarity with the Occupy Wall St. Movement, and you should too!

When you ran for President, I stood behind you. I believed in you. I believed that you would bring real changes to Washington, where the government would work for the people instead of the corporations and the very wealthy. Six days before the 2008 election, you addressed the nation saying that we could, “choose an economy that awards work and creates jobs and fuels prosperity starting with the middle-class . . . we can choose to invest in healthcare for our families and education for our kids and renewable energy for our future.” People, including myself, overwhelmingly voted for that change. Unfortunately the only change I continue to see is what little I have left in my pocket. Despite the fact that my husband and I live modestly, we still live paycheck to paycheck. We now live off of about half of what we had each month before you were elected to office. Certainly you have been busy and I know you have tried to make changes, but you have been blocked every step of the way by an even bigger monster. Money. That monster has put its dirty hands in Congress, paying members of Congress hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars collectively in contributions, so Congress works for them. By “them” I mean the corporations, or at least the very few people who own them. To bring real change to our government, we need to completely take the money out of the political process. My email box is flooded daily with emails asking for contributions to get a bill passed, fight a bill, to fight for or against a cause, or win an election. Things should not have to be this way. The potato or milk industries should not decide what our children should be eating at school! The oil and petroleum industries should not have an influence on our energy and environmental policies! The Koch brothers should not be allowed to emit cancer causing toxins poisoning and killing entire cities, without penalty. Corporations are buying votes, using lobbyist and money to control the political system. It does not have to stay like this. We the people, all of us and the men and women we sent to represent us should decide what policies should be put in place. We do not get to do that because we do not have unlimited funds like large corporations do. The people in office were given money to get elected by corporations and it is very clear that politicians, even you, work for those who can give the most campaign money. This would not be important if you could win without it, but as our current system stands; if a candidate has no money, they have no chance of being elected. That has to change! Having money does not in any way make someone more qualified to govern or represent their constituents from back home. If anything the more money a politician has access to, the less likely they will be able to relate to the people that they claim to represent.

The only way to bring change to Washington is to take the money out of politics all together, at first it may seem like an impossible thing to do, but in reality I can personally imagine removing the money from politics would be quite simple. I say this because no one has to donate money or run commercials for those competing in American Idol or other similar programs. The people see what the candidates stand for and are capable of in a short television segment each night. The people on the existing competitive shows actually compete to prove that they deserve to win. There is no slander involved it is just a real, solid competition between people who all have a passion for the same thing. Just as some are passionate about singing or dancing, others are passionate about government and civic service. How much money really gets wasted on campaigns anyway? Millions? Billions? For the signs and buttons to be quickly thrown away after it is all said and done. And in the end people vote for the best talker or go along their party lines, without any understanding of what the person they just elected to govern their entire nation is actually capable of doing, or what they represent. Commercials do not tell us anything. They are filled with lies and propaganda, however actions speak loudly. Change your actions Mr. President and lead by example.

You can change this system yourself! All by yourself. Stand up, lead by example and hold an official press conference. Let people know you will use any money that has been donated to your campaign already for any heartfelt deed of your choice. After all, there are plenty out there. You could even go so far as to let the people vote informally on an online poll to decide what those millions could go to. After you announce your refusal to use campaign money, you could explain to the people that the only signs they need to support you are the signs of solid change and actions. Your next step then of course would be to work! Do your job! Repeal the Patriot Act and the No Child Left Behind Act! And keep the promises that you made to the people who put you in office. These are personal requests, but I can assure you I am not the only one who sits at home wondering if I have been placed on a watch list because of all the Occupy Wall Street related things I post on my Facebook page, or how serious I am about politics and making the world a better place. Is there a detainment camp in my future? Who knows, but I am not a threat, I am merely a concerned American who seeks equality in the political system. And I am asking you, as the leader of the free world to lead us to that equality. Spend this last year and a half, not campaigning, but working. Remember, people overwhelmingly voted for change and since they have yet to see positive change, they are occupying public spaces everywhere demanding that change. Deliver your promise and lead by example! You can start by taking the money out of politics. If you can do that you may even see a second term. If you can not do that, then I doubt you will have support from anyone who supports Occupy Wall Street movement.

The money has to leave all aspects of our political life, because it does not just poison the campaigning process. Money is poisoning all areas of our lives. People have this obsession with it. It as though they still believe that the paper the Federal Reserve keeps printing is actually worth something. And for now, it is only worth something because people still accept it as currency, but what happens when they see it for what it really is, which is just paper. The only reason it is worth anything at all anymore is because people recognize it as a form of payment. I have to pay my rent with it for example, but what if that changes? What if landlords start bartering with tenants just to keep someone in the house? What happens when people no longer need the useless paper from the Federal Reserve? I do not have to imagine it, because I already see it happening. People are trading one service for another without using any money at all. My father for example received free dental work in exchange for advertising on the radio station he works for. My boss did all the catering and floral arrangements for our wedding later my husband repaired and moved her new display case. No money exchanged hands which also means that no tax dollars went to Washington. If members of Congress keep accepting huge donations, and the Federal Reserve keeps printing money it will only continue to lose its value, that too has to change.

A few years ago we could have easily payed for those services with paper, but now it seems we exchange more and more favors, one service for another and we no longer think twice about not being paid with paper for it. What is the big change we saw since you were elected? Neither of us have health insurance anymore, we both work for independent business owners who can barely keep up to pay for our menial salaries. As a student, I was forced to quit my job working for the county or quit school. I now make about $300 less each month because I chose to continue to get my college education. I work more hours and I have no benefits at all. I consider myself lucky to have a job. My husband who has nearly 20 years experience in the glass industry as a journeyman glazier and who once made enough money that everything I brought home was considered extra, no longer even doubles the minimum wage, nor does he have health insurance. We did however just finish paying off his $20,000 student loan debt for his degree in computer networking, something he never formally used because he is still not able to find a job paying any more than what he earns now.

I always take things in stride. And we survive, somehow, but let us be real here. That is all we are doing. I do not expect a hand-out, a bail-out, or your sympathy. My story is mild compared to many others. What I do expect is for you to start making a difference, make changes. If workers cannot be exploited anywhere in the world, companies will not go overseas to do business. If corporations are not people, they can not influence public policy to effectively squander out the small business owners. Every dollar that we pour into weapons development and war is another dollar that does not go to finding a cure for cancer, ending poverty and homelessness, providing adequate healthcare for all citizens and providing a quality, affordable education. The people have opened their eyes. People should be put over profits, because in the end, people are more valuable than profits will ever be. Even if everyone from the Occupy Movement went home today, it is not over. Millions of people all over the world have been unplugged from the matrix. As you know, once you become enlightened, you cannot go back to being ignorant. We are tired of being slaves to corporate greed. Free us! Free all people from the mass injustice. If you do not. We, the 99%, will find someone who will! The time is now Mr. President, I have given you the first step. Take a leap, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Respectfully,

Kacey M. Messier
Colonial Heights, VA

Thanks for stopping by the Middle Brick Road, I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Kacey and I am really big on health and all things natural – freedom – politics and bringing change by abandoning the boxes we too often put ourselves in.

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