Please tell me

 have strong opinions. Obviously. But I don’t think that makes me right. Well, not all the time. I do try to open up my mind and hear what the other side is saying. And I also attempt (though I don’t deny it is difficult) to admit when I’m wrong, or being a hypocrite. 

So, to all you Obama haters, I have to own up to something. 

I hated George Bush. There were times the things he did made my anger visceral. So I had to mock him. If you don’t already know this (how can you not?), I have a cut out of him that I used to dress up as all sorts of inappropriate things. I meant to burn him, but he is Styrofoam so instead he is collecting dust behind a bookshelf. And all his costume bits are in a closet. So maybe that’s not mature. Maybe that is on some par with marching on Washington and touting a bunch of ridiculous signs. 

Or maybe not. 

At first, I was embarrassed by him. I lived in another country after he got elected… and then after 9-11, when his approval rating and my patriotism gave him the benefit of the doubt. Even if three syllable words were a challenge to him. Even if he stole the election. Even if he had the same beady eyes as Feathers McGraw. He was my president. The world was in crisis. I supported him. I thought he did some dumb things like choke on a pretzel or fall off his Segway scooter. But he was my president. 

In 2004, I didn’t vote for him. Duh. But he won. Even though I think it was vile how he maligned John Kerry as unpatriotic for his service in Vietnam. Bushy deserted his assignment flying planes over Texas. As the daughter of aVietnam vet, I found that disgusting. But, okay, he won the damn election. He was president. 

After September 2005, I had no more patience. No more empathy. No more understanding. That’s when I bought the cut out. Because Georgie Porgie and his crew were useless. They didn’t care about me. They didn’t care about this country. They didn’t give a shit. Really. Hurricane Katrina showed that to me.

A city drowned. Thousands lost their lives. How many more lost their homes? Homes they built and paid for. Homes in which they watched their children grow. Gone. The government failed. In a big way.

There was outrage. I was outraged. I still am. 

So, my question is, tea party supporters, were you? Did it bother you that people were forced to live (and die) in a football stadium? That corpses were left on the side of the road? Did it bother you as much as this current government infuriates you? Because the president wants you to not have to pay as much to get an MRI or so someone with cancer won’t be told he can’t see his doctor? Is that really as bad as the devastation in New Orleans? 

I’m not trying to be sanctimonious. I am really trying to see if there is some obvious element of humanity I’m missing here. Am I blinded by my liberalism to something that is obvious to the protesters? Is there something I’m missing that I should consider to better appreciate the plight of the American people against our government? 

I’m not interested in your wallet. Really. I’m not. I am not rich. Of course I would like more money, more things, more freedom to buy whatever the hell I want. But I can pay my rent. I can buy food. I can go out with friends each week. I can pay for a car that is probably a little more than I need. I’m okay. But I would give things up if it meant someone else could have food. Or a place to sleep. Because why is my life more significant than theirs? Just because I am white and can speak English, is my life somehow more valuable? 

What is this government going to take away from me by telling me I should go to the doctor? By giving me the means to have medicine? Please, please, please tell me. I don’t understand. Is it going to be as awful as New Orleans? Because, frankly, if it is, I will get myself some tea bags and join you down in Washington.