New Day, Old Lies

For those living in Michigan — time to pay attention!

Yesterday, I was out with a team of volunteers collecting signatures for Gretchen Whitmer — to get her on the ballot — in a very public place where I met people from Pennsylvania, Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Missouri, Massachusetts, and a number of different counties in MI. Where was I? Eastern Market in Detroit!

There I stood at the foot of the ramp of the bridge crossing over 375 and gave my 30 second spiel about Gretchen Whitmer for those who said they didn’t know her. After meeting another petitioner who was collecting signatures for, “Promote The Vote,” we stood together and made quite a team. The Camaraderie was great and we connected on a number of levels. Both us are Democrats, both of us love this country and want the best for Michigan and the United States; we’re both retired, working educators and we both volunteer to help others. That was a pretty good starting point and I think we’ll have a lasting relationship. That was the new day — yesterday, but the comments made by some — were the same old lies, designed to defeat.

We could tell by the reaction people when we approached who was a Republican and who was a Democrat — the Republicans didn’t want to hear anything I had to say about a woman running for governor and they didn’t want to hear anything Therese had to say about making sure everyone had an easier access to voting — including an absentee ballot — without having an excuse. They didn’t want to hear it. Now why would they not want people to have easier access to voting? Fear of others voting for Democrats? I can imagine they drew some conclusions about the two of us — a white woman and a black woman, working together to make sure there is change for the better for Michigan.

And then there were the “natives” who are still holding onto the lie that voting won’t matter because all politicians lie. There’s no ignoring the fact that many politicians — mere human beings make promises without knowing if they can keep them or not; it doesn’t make them bad people — it simply means they didn’t have enough support to get the job done.

• When Democrats had control of the House and the Senate in Washington for Obama’s first two years — they were able to save the automotive industry with bailouts that were repaid and establish a healthcare bill that gave millions access to healthcare. After the first two years — and with the promise McConnell made to the Republican Senate — not much worthwhile was accomplished — with Paul Ryan leading the House because they were determined, “to make Obama a one-term president.” When that didn’t happen, they simply refused to support anything that would benefit the nation as a whole.
• For the past eight years, we’ve had a Republican controlled government as governor, house and senate — and no matter what any Democrat candidate said while running, it probably didn’t matter since the Republicans were determined to make government about and for the rich — not all the people. There were a few instances — one in which Gretchen Whitmer was successful in achieving a bi-partisan effort in the expansion of Medicaid in Michigan.

The above “points” indicate the necessity of having a well-balanced congressional government or if we really want to see change that benefits “all” the people, Democrats need to be in control of the House and Senate — both on a local and national level because it is the Democrats who establish policies and governance for all, not just the rich.

Here are a few tips about voting this year and every year.

• Don’t believe the hype or the polls — do your own research, get registered, volunteer for a candidate and then get out and vote and make sure those you know — vote as well.
• Know for a fact — if you don’t vote — your vote won’t count and if 20,000 people sit at home thinking their votes won’t matter, chances are we’ll end up with Republicans controlling government for the next 10 years or more.
• Stop and think — our country is in danger of our democracy being dismantled, deliberately by those in office right now. We know because neither the House or the Senate is upholding their oaths of office and leaving #Rumplethinskin in office is going to cost this nation dearly.

Don’t take my word for it — pay attention to the world around you and beyond Fox News. Other nations are more concerned about us than many in this country are — which makes one wonder — do we have what it takes to set aside our differences long enough to get our country back on track? Or will be simply allow the Putin implant to destroy our country and our values?

We don’t live in a world that is simply “black or white,” but right and wrong — have never changed. Racism, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny are all WRONG! Love is always RIGHT and we cannot take care of those in need if we are in capable of loving others — no matter what they do. We can disagree about lifestyles without hating; we can disagree about religions without hating; we can disagree — agreeably about anything — without hating.

Are we going to let the “old lies” keep us from living in the greatest country ever that acknowledges every person as a human being and where laws and policies demonstrate equal treatment of all?

• A woman’s hormones will not be a deterrent for them to be great leaders in government.
• Black people are just as smart as their counterparts with different skin tones and have been great leaders for centuries.
• Teenagers have just as much right to voice their opinions and concerns as any other group — they see, they analyze and they vocalize.
• We are not a nation divided by race and religion — we are all Americans — united as one — fighting for the survival of this one nation — America.
• Our votes do matter because they’re our voice in government — if we don’t vote — we have no say in what happens to us.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and we need to make sure — the iceberg doesn’t sink us all into oblivion. Go vote! And if you don’t know enough about a candidate — #VoteBlue (down ballot) — you can’t go wrong! As long as we’re divided in government, nothing will ever be accomplished that will benefit the Everyday American.

TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE DEMOCRACY WORK AGAIN FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL!