Dear Public Servants:
You, of course, remember Amy Jo Hutchison. Nice lady … dark, curly hair … made a lot of sense in our nation’s capital a few times? We figure, since the realities of real life are so damn rare in Washington, D.C., her face might be burned in your brain.
You know, the West Virginia lady who figuratively gut-punched you with the realities of poverty? Told you about popping ibuprofen pills like Tic Tacs because she didn’t have health care? That poverty “rolls off the backs of parents right onto the shoulders of our children despite how hard we try”?
Shopping with a calculator? Cashing in a jar of change for a daughter to go to a high school band competition? And she begged you on behalf of the 15 million children living in poverty in the United States not to restrict public assistance more than it already is today?
Ring a bell? Yup, that’s right, her. Pretty difficult not to recall Amy Jo and the message she delivered back on February 5, 2020, right? Right. And she was polite, too, stating clearly she was not asking you to apologize for your privilege, but she did request that you take a good, long look passed it.
So, here’s why we write you. We have questions. First, why no action?
Do you flip the TV channel when anything related to poverty comes on the news? Have you refused meetings with colleagues when they wish to address the homelessness issue in the country right now? Or mental illness? Maybe opiates? Have you excused these concerns as “liberal radicalism” because that’s what the weekly talking points from party leaders instructed you to do?
A few realities Amy Jo did not remind you of during her testimony include the fact both Democrats AND Republicans live in poverty in America, and both Democrats AND Republicans are homeless, too. Oh, and Democrats AND Republicans? Both are to blame for this impossible system that leaves millions of Americans behind, so, yeah, folks, this is an US problem, and Amy Jo will continue rattling your windows until you realize THAT reality.
Sincerely,
Democrats AND Republicans
