I've been increasingly disappointed with our government since Bush took office in 2004. Every day I hear about more and more congressmen and women who decide that their rights, their money, their freedom, is more important than anyone else. I watch them be selfish jerks. I watch people like me, who don't have much, struggle because these horrible people want to cut funding for programs like Medicaid, or food stamps, or WIC. I see them look down on the people who "dare" to be poor...like it's a damn choice or something. I see them turn people against lower income families, calling them lazy and telling the hands that just want to be held that all they're after is handouts. And I grow more and more disgusted every single day.
I see those memes people post about how poor people shouldn't have iPhones, or nice cars, or houses. I never even knew there was a requirement to be poor. I didn't know you had to look a certain way, or give up the stuff you rightfully bought before that big layoff at work, or before you had your leg crushed in a work related accident that left you disabled and permanently out of work. I didn't know you had to be wearing rags and going barefoot to be considered "poor enough" for food stamps. Wow. That definitely fooled me. Because if you owned an old iPhone and kept it, and your parents were paying for it so you could stay in touch with them, that means you're not poor enough. If you have nice shoes that you found at goodwill for $5, and they look brand new, you are definitely not poor enough. And if you still have the car you paid for in full right before you got laid off, you're not even close to poor enough. Suck it up. Get back up and find a minimum wage job, you lazy jerk. *sarcasm*
When did this attitude of "I don't want to help anyone but myself" flood into what is supposed to be the greatest country on earth? When did it become a bad thing for someone to pay a little extra so maybe their neighbor, the bagger at the grocery store, their grandma, their child's teacher, could actually not have to go bankrupt if they get in some sort of accident? What if, just...what if you found out you had cancer today, but you had no insurance? What if you were in that gap, the one between Medicaid and work insurance that is far too expensive to afford? What if you own your own business? Who will pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars to get you chemo and radiation? That's something no one should have to worry about.
I guess as an atheist and a liberal (boom and boom) I see it as people shouldn't go without, no matter who they are. They should be able to afford to stay alive, they should be able to get help without judgment if they need it.
And I am not sorry for saying this...but I am not lazy. I am not stupid. I am an intelligent person who works hard every day as a mom of a special needs kid to ensure my son stays safe, happy, and healthy. I meet every single need he has. So next time you want to call someone who doesn't technically work "lazy", think about that. Maybe they are like me, never sitting down because they have a child to chase around.
Just think. Don't judge.
