Waking Up in America

This morning, it feels good to be waking up in America. Not only did women oust the misogynist GOP representatives who yammered on about "legitimate rape" and a pregnancy resulting from rape being a "gift from God", but Barack H. Obama won a second, well-deserved term as our President.

Now, don't get me wrong. If you voted for the other guy, I still love you. But if you think that Obama only won a second term because of all the "freeloaders" who voted for him, I suggest you go for a walk in the world this morning.

I live in a part of New York where there are many, many people who receive some form of government assistance through food stamps, supplemental or disability income, or housing subsidies. When I look around my community, do I see a bunch of freeloaders?

No, I most definitely do NOT.

I see men and women who work at jobs that are physically demanding, day after day. I see men and women who work to support their children and their families. I see men and women who work two and three jobs to try to make ends meet. I see men and women who do whatever they have to to keep their homes warm during the long, cold winters up here. And I see men and women who desperately want to improve their situations and not have to rely on those government "handouts". I see men and women who WANT to be self-sufficient, but who have not been provided with the necessary tools and basic human requirements (health care, living wage) to do so.

Surely, these cannot be the "freeloaders" who rely on their government assistance because they're too lazy to pull themselves up by the bootstraps. Can they?

So, America, take a deep breath. Smile at someone today, because you never know what battles that person is fighting. Go for a long, slow walk. And most of all, appreciate the fact that you are waking up in America.