How to take back the USA!!

Now I’m not exactly a Ross Perot fan but I am a fan of reading. Once a year I go to the local “Used Book Sale” at the mall which is sponsored by the Public Library. It’s great, I can pick up a grocery bag of books for a few dollars and then, on the last day of the sale, it’s all the books you can shove into a bag for $1.00.

So as I said, I go every year. I pick up books on a wide variety of subjects. I always look for a Stephen King book I haven’t read but I’m pretty much caught up on his stuff. I also usually pick up one or two that I read years ago and want to read again.  The last time I got “Profiles in Courage” by John F. Kennedy and “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill (I’ve read that several times). During my search I came across “United We Stand” by Ross Perot. Again, I’m not exactly a big fan but let’s face it, he’s smart.

I’m not going to tell you what the book is about, I think you can figure that out from the title. I am going to tell you that, the gist of the book is that, we have lost control of the very people we elect to represent us. As you can imagine there are some graphs in the book, but you don’t need to understand them to get the message.

Mr. Perot states “Only the people, the owners of this country, can make America strong again“.  As he says in the introduction “One voice is tiny, and alone it cannot be heard above the din of politics as usual. The people’s voice, when it cries as one, is a great roar. United We Stand: That’s the magic. It cannot be ignored“.

So how do we do that? How do we get the “people” to act as one? Well don’t start packing your bags, we don’t all need to agree on a place and time to meet just yet. With the technology we have today we can get most of it done from home. You can even buy postage for your letters right on the Internet.

First you need to understand that your opinion does matter!! It’s a sure bet that if you have concerns about the way things are being done, so do others around you. Oh!! Not everybody is going to agree with you, at least not in public. There will always be those with different opinions and those who choose not to say anything. That’s great!! This is America and they are entitled to their opinion or to sit on their butt and say nothing if they so choose. But it’s like I tell my kids, “If you don’t vote, then you have no right to complain about how things are run”.

So, if you are like me then you have something to say almost every time you watch or listen to the news. I often talk to the TV or to the empty seat next to me in the car. My wife says I shouldn’t talk to myself, but it’s a good way to get the answers I want and I rarely argue with myself. If you are not into talking to yourself then there are some things you can do to let your representatives know how you feel.

I’ve always felt that the problems start at the bottom so I first write letters to the editor of the local small town newspaper. Here in Sumter, SC it’s the Item. The problem is that they only run the letters on Sundays and I have to compete with the locals complaining about the condition of the homes in their area. So although I feel better having done something, I don’t get the impression that the word is getting out. The same happens if I write to the “big city” paper in Columbia, except that they have even more run down neighborhoods to compete with. Still, I keep on trying.

Another thing I do is respond to the articles at www.foxnews.com. I don’t do this too often unless I’m really riled up about something. The reason I don’t do it more is because I don’t think the responses are monitored and there are some really immature people calling names and saying nasty things about other responders. Again, sometimes I can’t help myself.  When I watch Fox News sometimes they’ll ask for our input into certain stories. I’ll occasionally write to them but I haven’t seen my input on the news, yet!  Many towns have local TV stations that request viewer input as well, so take advantage of them.

If you want to get directly to your representatives or at least their offices, then there are many web sites you can go to. Just remember, the chances of your representative opening the email are slim and none and slim just left. Your email will probably be opened by a “staffer”. You will then be sent a form letter expressing appreciation for your interest in our government. If you send a letter concerning selected topics like Medicare and Social Security, you will probably get the form letter faster, as they already have some made addressing those issues directly and thanking you for your concern. At least I got a fast response.

What I’m saying is do not expect your representative, whether it be a congressman or senator, to answer you directly or drop by to speak with you. I’m sure that they are very busy and probably get a lot of mail from not only those of us who are sincere, but probably more than a few who are not playing with a full deck, if you get my drift. However, you will be heard, IF there are enough people with the same concerns.  Like Mr. Perot indicated, with only one of us complaining, we are a “tiny voice” but as a group, a neighborhood, a city, a district we cannot be ignored.

Some of the sites you can go to are; www.House.gov (Congress), www.Senate.gov (Senate), www.Whitehouse.gov (President and Vice President) and www.USA.gov (State Governors and legislators). I believe you will find it interesting to go to these sites and see what they have to offer. Besides giving you the opportunity to make your voice heard you can see what is being discussed and what bills are coming up. More importantly, and I found this very interesting, you can see what your representatives are doing with their time. So rather than tell you where to click to contact your local reps, I encourage you to check all the options and become familiar with the sites.

I checked out two of my local  district representatives and was very disappointed with what I found.  At first I thought it was just a slow year, but I went back several years and found the same thing. I’m not going to mention names because I really haven’t done a lot of research on this and may not fully understand what is really happening. I’ll just compare two Representatives of Sumter County. I am using Session 117 because Session 118 is just starting for the 2009-2010 session.

The first individual introduced 13 bills, 10 of which passed. Nine of the 10 dealt with congratulating or recognizing someone or offering condolences to an individuals family after a passing. The last one was an actual request to change state law concerning “illegally dispensing contact lenses”.

The second representative, who I think is truly doing his job, introduced 39 bills. Although only 16 were passed, all but four were real legislative issues dealing with changes to state law. The other four were again bills to congratulate or recognize someone.  Many of the 23 that were not passed for the particular session  were sent to committees for further review and/or reintroduced at a later time.

Now, I’m sure that everything they bring to the floor is important in one way or another. However, I’m not sure that it is the best use of an elected representatives time to spend the majority of their term, congratulating folks. In one year I noticed that there were 238 bills introduced by a representative and only four of them actually dealt with issues you or I would be concerned with. If every representative is doing the same thing, it’s no wonder nothing gets done. If they do the same thing in DC that would explain why we are having the problems that we constantly see in the news today.

So when you go to the sites I mentioned, don’t just go directly to contacting your representative. Click around and really check them out. I think you’ll be surprised, and not pleasantly, by what you find. Maybe that representative you are so fond of, is not actually doing anything for you. 

And naturally, whenever you get the chance, return to www.TellMeAboutThat.com and click on the “Hot Links” tab and visit my other sites as well. Be sure to subscribe to this blog (right there on the right) for regular updates and articles on a variety of subjects. If you feel a need to speak out, then please feel free to leave a comment (the piece of paper with a number in it, next to the title). I only ask that you act like an adult and respect others and their opinions.