WHAT DO AMERICANS VALUE

I recently started listening to Air America, the radio network dedicated to progressive ideas. On one of the shows today there was a story about a hardworking American couple who are about to lose their house because the wife was diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer and they do not have health insurance.

This is just one story in thousands, maybe even tens of thousands.

Your neighbors who worked 60 hours a week to make ends meet, celebrated the birth of your children, kept their lawn manicured, and helped shuttle your children to soccer practice are losing their houses and their lives.

They are no different than you. Their values are your values. They love their children, have helped take care of their parents, and paid their taxes.

America is the riches nation on the earth. Our government spends billions of dollars on nonsensical congressional pet projects. We send billions of aid to other countries, but most importantly we are currently spending one trillion dollars on the liberation and occupation of Iraq – which is now in the middle of a civil war.

We can spend one trillion dollars killing thousands of American soldiers and several hundred thousand innocent Iraqi children, women and men, but we can not offer affordable or free health care to our citizens?

What is wrong with us?

Where are our morals?

As a country what do we value?

The Conservative Christian movement shouts from every television news show that the United States of America was a nation built on Christian principles. Where is the Christian principle in letting the country’s children and poor die or be kicked out onto the streets? How is it that a choice needs to be made between food and medical care, or housing and prescription drugs?

And while I am on the Christians - I am certain that Honoring thy father and mother doesn’t primarily mean not talking back. It also means ensuring they are given proper medical care and are not forced to live in their car.

How did this country get so far from its belief in, and care for, its people? When was it decided that invading countries that could do no harm to us was more important than making certain that every American - our children and elderly included – is receiving proper medical care?

American corporations are making record profits, stocks are at an all-time high, and yet medical benefits are denied to one-fifth of the American population. One in five honest, hardworking Americans are without adequate healthcare.

Corporate America once took care of their employees. That is a thing of the past. While their profits climb to unfathomable levels their employees cannot afford to pay for their doctor visits or prescriptions. There are more working poor now than ever in the history of this country – and yet we remain the world’s wealthiest citizens.

When are we going to elect representatives to Washington who share the belief that our citizens are important? That children matter and we value or senior citizens? When are we going to hold our representatives to the principle that all Americans deserve healthcare – not just the wealthy?

Which congressmen or senator is going to realize that every American deserves the same health benefits they receive and that each CEO in the country takes for granted? More importantly, when are we going to elect a President who works for the best interest of the electorate instead of his wealthy fraternity buddies?

As usual, I am outraged that we have allowed our government to ignore us, take us for granted and spit in our faces as they and their corporate brothers line their pockets and plan more wars to continue the generous of military wealth.

Not a week goes by without me sending an email or letter to one of my representatives – but nothing seems to change – and we need a change.

We all need to talk to anyone who will listen to us. We need to be writing letters and emails, we need to be blogging, and we need to be loud and unified in our belief that people deserve more, and are worth more healthy and alive than sickly, on the streets or dead – and that if our government does wake up and change – we will change our government.