“I like it in the city when two worlds collide…You get the people and the government, Everybody taking different sides.
Shows that we ain’t gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united
Shows that we ain’t gonna take it…”
Adele, Hometown Glory
To the Senators and Representatives of the United States House and Senate:
I understand how difficult it must be for you, as human beings, up on that big bad hill. You’ve come through family legacy, you’ve come through hard-won campaigns. You’ve come through blood, sweat, tears and glad-handing. You’re there and you deserve that shit.
It’s so easy, up on that hill, to think to yourself, well, I’ve made it; I deserve to be here, and what I do here is up to me.
God, You’re so wrong.
I digress. What you’re right about is the fact that you are in a place of honor and that however you got there, you’re there because you were better than someone else. But what you fail to remember, what you should never forget; is that you’ve been elected.
The people who elected you might not understand WHY they elected you. They might not understand who you are, personally; they might not know that you’re going through a terrible divorce because you’re in the closet, or that you have a nasty coke habit, or that you really don’t understand legislature and frankly are only there because your daddy put you there (not naming names). The fact remains, however, that it doesn’t matter what you’re going through. The legislative branch of government was created for something far beyond that. The responsibility is in your hands to put aside all of that bullshit and realize that you were put where you are to make the best decisions for THE PEOPLE.
Remember that little speech; the Gettysburg address? “And that government of the people, for the people, by the people shall not perish from this earth.” Will you be the generation of legislators that make it perish?
I understand this is a great responsibility. But, let me speak plainly to you. This time in our country’s history should not be trifled with. This is a time of crisis. People are starving. Children are going without proper food or education. People are severely underemployed (a statistic that does not go into the overall unemployment rate) -millions are struggling to make ends meet with several jobs. Your country is suffering. Don’t waste our time puffing your chests out and arguing over how much tax cuts the rich will get. It won’t make a difference, friends. Overseas jobs don’t have a bearing on tax cuts.
Get real and understand who you’re serving and who put you there. This is not a joke. This is not a dress rehearsal. You might be comfortable when you go home and get into bed at night, but don’t forget: you have 310 million people in your country looking to you to be their guide and assistant in making sure that they and their families don’t starve to death.
Remember the fundamentals, all:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Remember the fundamentals. They’re there, we just need to institute them.
With wavering respect,
Diane Bradley