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Rep. John Boehner recently stated that he was unaware of any average Americans who supported a public option in health insurance. This it the letter I sent him to remedy this sad lack.
October 2, 2009
Hon. John Boehner
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Introduction
Dear Rep. Boehner:
You recently stated that you had never met anyone outside of a political operative or lobbyist who supported a public option in health insurance. As I am unable to travel to Washington to meet you in person, I would like to introduce myself to you via fax to remedy this situation.
My name is ________. I am an average American, almost painfully so. I work as an office manager in a small town, in the state where the American Revolution began. I own my own home with a modest mortgage, vote regularly, and pay my taxes. I drive an average little car, shop at Macy’s and my local hometown grocery store, and have belonged to the same church since 1991. I am a proud descendant of Captain ____________ of the Pennsylvania militia, who came to America in 1750 and fought in the Revolution a quarter century later. If I wished, I could join the DAR, as my third cousin ___________ did in the last century. My father and an uncle saw service against the Germans in World War II, while two other uncles served stateside. If I hadn’t been too old, I would have gladly enlisted myself after 9/11 when my country called.
In short, I am American to the core. My family has worked and fought and died for this country since its founding. Two of my cousin’s children are currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I pray nightly for their safety. I salute the flag and sing the National Anthem, and I love my country very, very much.
I tell you all this so you will understand me and my background, and not dismiss me as an American-hating radical when I state that I unequivocally and absolutely support a public option in health care. It is a disgrace, and a stain upon our national honor, that hardworking men and women must choose between their homes and their insurance, their marriages and their insurance, and their jobs and their insurance. I cannot believe that this, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, is still the only industrialized country that refuses to invest in its citizens by making sure that they can get the healthcare they need without destroying their financial future.
I say this not only for the millions of my fellow Americans who lack health insurance, to the shame of our nation, but for myself. You see, I have a pre-existing condition, benign but lifelong, that all but precludes me from getting private insurance. I cannot open my own business. I cannot work for a start-up. I cannot work for a small company or live in certain states because a condition that has no known risk factors, that I could not possibly have avoided, makes me uninsurable.
My seven times removed great-grandfather came to America for a better life. He fought against his homeland, risking a traitor’s death, to make that better life a reality. My father and my uncle took up arms to defend democracy against the horrors of Nazi Germany and the worst genocide the modern world has ever seen. Two of my relatives currently fight in the war against terrorism. I cannot and will not believe that my relatives did and do to support a system that discriminates against the poor and the weak and the average in so blatant a fashion.
I hope that this letter has enlightened you, or at least a member of your staff. I also hope that I will never again read that you do not know of any average Americans who support a public option, because now you do.
Sincerely,
October 2, 2009
Hon. John Boehner
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Introduction
Dear Rep. Boehner:
You recently stated that you had never met anyone outside of a political operative or lobbyist who supported a public option in health insurance. As I am unable to travel to Washington to meet you in person, I would like to introduce myself to you via fax to remedy this situation.
My name is ________. I am an average American, almost painfully so. I work as an office manager in a small town, in the state where the American Revolution began. I own my own home with a modest mortgage, vote regularly, and pay my taxes. I drive an average little car, shop at Macy’s and my local hometown grocery store, and have belonged to the same church since 1991. I am a proud descendant of Captain ____________ of the Pennsylvania militia, who came to America in 1750 and fought in the Revolution a quarter century later. If I wished, I could join the DAR, as my third cousin ___________ did in the last century. My father and an uncle saw service against the Germans in World War II, while two other uncles served stateside. If I hadn’t been too old, I would have gladly enlisted myself after 9/11 when my country called.
In short, I am American to the core. My family has worked and fought and died for this country since its founding. Two of my cousin’s children are currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I pray nightly for their safety. I salute the flag and sing the National Anthem, and I love my country very, very much.
I tell you all this so you will understand me and my background, and not dismiss me as an American-hating radical when I state that I unequivocally and absolutely support a public option in health care. It is a disgrace, and a stain upon our national honor, that hardworking men and women must choose between their homes and their insurance, their marriages and their insurance, and their jobs and their insurance. I cannot believe that this, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, is still the only industrialized country that refuses to invest in its citizens by making sure that they can get the healthcare they need without destroying their financial future.
I say this not only for the millions of my fellow Americans who lack health insurance, to the shame of our nation, but for myself. You see, I have a pre-existing condition, benign but lifelong, that all but precludes me from getting private insurance. I cannot open my own business. I cannot work for a start-up. I cannot work for a small company or live in certain states because a condition that has no known risk factors, that I could not possibly have avoided, makes me uninsurable.
My seven times removed great-grandfather came to America for a better life. He fought against his homeland, risking a traitor’s death, to make that better life a reality. My father and my uncle took up arms to defend democracy against the horrors of Nazi Germany and the worst genocide the modern world has ever seen. Two of my relatives currently fight in the war against terrorism. I cannot and will not believe that my relatives did and do to support a system that discriminates against the poor and the weak and the average in so blatant a fashion.
I hope that this letter has enlightened you, or at least a member of your staff. I also hope that I will never again read that you do not know of any average Americans who support a public option, because now you do.
Sincerely,
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-10-02 04:44 pm (UTC)From:no subject
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Date: 2009-10-02 08:32 pm (UTC)From:Your simple and direct approach, coupled with your command of the language and your painfully unflagging honesty continue to inspire me.
-H.
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Date: 2009-10-02 08:54 pm (UTC)From:no subject
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Date: 2009-10-28 08:32 pm (UTC)From: