Following my failed attempt over four years ago to have my
name on the ballot to possibly earn the opportunity to represent us in
Washington, D.C., I have long promoted the concept that we must participate
more in our government. However, I
can readily attest that it is extremely hard based on personal experience,
which I seek to share through a series of posts beginning with this one.
Even though the date of this post is August 1, 2014, it is based on a letter that I opened
in early January of this year, which I initially received two months earlier in
November 2013. That letter was a
non-descript form letter sent by Florida Blue, my health insurance provider,
informing me that my family’s health insurance would cease to exist due to the
Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) mandates.
It is now obvious that when I wrote my last post, Set Healthcare Free,
published November 22, 2013, I was unaware at the time that I was writing about
family and me.
Needless to say, once I learned the news, I was angry;
sadly, I felt hopeless, too, because I did not think there was much else I
could do other than: 1. Make the necessary hard choices; 2. Voice my frustration to those who helped write and
approve the legislation and 3. Share this information with as many others as
possible (such as through a series of blog posts). In the process of seeking to voice my frustration and more
importantly, give possible solutions, I discovered that the process requires a lot of
resources (time and money), which are hard to come by.
While I did not keep formal track of time allotted, I guestimate that I invested approximately 100 hours writing, editing, printing and mailing
my letter. I also spent
approximately $300 on print material and postage. When you read my letter (in a series of subsequent posts) you will come to learn why I sent
snail mail versus email.
It has taken me almost nine months to arrive at this point because
there are only 24 hours in a day. I share one allocation of those hours for just
one day based on my personal experiences: 9+ hours work, 1+ hour roundtrip
commute, 2+ hours to nourish body with food (includes collecting, prepping, consuming,
cleaning), 1+/- hours cleaning body internally (i.e. going to the bathroom) and
externally (bathing, flossing, etc…), 2+/- hours investing time in
children/family, 8- hours sleep and possibly 1 hour remaining for decompression.
Notice that work consumes the most time as it does with most Americans. Consequently, either one most work in government or
work in an organization that does not prevent activities (i.e. politicking) to
best affect our government. In
reference to the latter, I think the only organizations that willing approve of
those actively participating are those where the principal owner is doing the
activity, which means few truly participate and why I think that David Brat winning
his election against Eric Cantor with less than $200,000 in donations could be
a watershed moment. I think the
nomination of David Brat demonstrates if and when people participate then the
everyday ordinary citizen can influence government more than any money that may
flow into an election.
It is hard, but we can do it; we must do it. WE MUST PARTICIPATE!
