There has been much talk over the past few months about the financial help that the middle class needs. However, I could not seem to figure out who it was they were talking about. How was their platform going to affect me? We heard much said about Joe the plumber, but how does that help me? Who am I? Am I Joe the plumber?
During all of the presidential campaigning, I could not figure out just where my family fit in. We take care of our own responsibilities. We do not want a handout from the government. I can not understand why we would want a president who wants to find more ways for the government to bare the financial responsibility of its people. What exactly are my duties to my fellow countrymen? Who am I? Since I have been old enough to understand the political verbiage that is proclaimed throughout past and present elections, all I can divulge is that the Republicans generally help the wealthy stay wealthy, and the Democrats seek to keep the public dependent, in essence, they keep the poor, poor. Just who am I? I am not wealthy, and since I pay my bills myself, I am not poor, but who am I?
Are we the only working family in America that does not mind paying for our own health benefits? Are we the only ones who think handouts are destroying the workforce and character of the working class? Is it wrong of me to think you, too, should bare you own load and not that of those who do not. I see it on a weekly basis, people who quit good, stable jobs only to file for welfare and food stamps. I have stood in line at the grocery store behind individuals with buggies full of groceries, diapers and alcoholic beverages, only to pay with their EBT (food stamps) card. It is strange how they can afford the alcohol, but the government is buying the groceries, but who am I? Is it wrong to think that a person’s children are not the state’s responsibility?
Who am I? I like paved roads and protection from crime. I pay my taxes because it is my duty. I do not mind paying the weekly insurance premiums in order to keep our family’s health looked after. But who am I? I am a thirty year old, married, working mother. I do not have any problems with the health care coverage our family pays for. My husband and I both work full time. We pay our taxes and our bills. We have a combined income of less than $80,000 per year. We do not receive or ask for governmental assistance. We are not looking for extraordinary ways to get out of our debt. We own two vehicles that are both ten years old. We live in a small house in a very small town in South Georgia. We are both slowly educating ourselves to give us other opportunities of employment, should we have the need or desire for such. We are not defeated nor are we hardly disheartened by the stock market tumble. We live our lives the way we can afford to. Who am I? I’ll tell you, I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I am not a Libertarian. I am not Joe the plumber. I am not an idealist. I am an American, doing what I was taught Americans do: love their GOD, love their country, treat people well and take responsibility for themselves. Though I know who I am, throughout all of the campaigning, I could not figure out where I belonged, and it just has me wondering, in the eyes of our President-elect, who am I?
