This is the letter I will be sending to my ‘representative’ in the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Warren Davidson, later today …
Dear Mr. Davidson,
I would like to take a few moments to let you know why you do not represent me. Yes, I realize you won the election fair and square, but you still do not represent me. Why? Because your values and mine appear to be 180° apart, because you do not make legislative decisions that are in the best interest of the people of this nation, or even the people of your district.
Here are the things I consider to be most important for this country, that I think should be top priorities in the House of Representatives:
- Equality. Women should have the same rights as men to make their own medical decisions, to be treated as equals in the workplace, and not to be dominated by men. LGBTQ people deserve the exact same rights as straight people. Black people, Hispanics, and Asians all deserve the same rights and privileges as white people. And atheists, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews all deserve the exact same civil and human rights as Christians. There should be no differences. These are the rights that need to be codified into law and the law enforced rigidly.
- Guns. I do not believe that guns belong in the hands of civilians, period. It is a Pandora’s Box. That said, I realize I’m fighting a losing battle, but I am a student of Constitutional Law and I can tell you that there is nothing in the 2nd Amendment that guarantees the right of every man, woman and child in the U.S. to own an AR-15 assault weapon. A Congress with a conscience would be working diligently to pass a permanent and irrevocable assault weapon ban. Do you realize that in Cincinnati there were 29 shootings in just 10 days?
- Voting rights. Every person age 18 or older in this country should have access to the ballot. Gerrymandering and voter restriction laws like the one recently passed in Ohio deprive people, typically poor people, minorities, and young people, of their constitutional right. Last year, Congress had the opportunity to pass two very important voting rights laws that would have overridden any restrictive state laws, and you fell down on the job. Reinstate those bills and this time pass them!
- Economic. I do not view money as the most important consideration, but that said, I realize that it is necessary for life. Every working person deserves a livable income, and $7.25 per hour (or less in the cases of tipped employees) does not constitute a living wage! The federal minimum wage has been stagnant since 2009, despite a significant rise in the cost of living during that time. Why? Because Congress is more interested in helping the wealthy 1% than the rest of us. I see no reason whatsoever for anybody to have millions or billions of dollars sitting around in investment accounts while people are struggling, some putting their children to bed hungry at night or living in cardboard boxes on the streets.
Certainly there are other important priorities such as education, healthcare, the environment, the war in Ukraine, etc., but the ones I listed are, in my book, the highest priorities that Congress should be focusing on instead of revenge investigations and petty bickering that will accomplish nothing. I believe that if you sat down, one-to-one, with everyone in your district and asked them to talk about these priorities, you would find that at least 85% of them would be in agreement with me. But are you? Based on your actions, your votes, and your weekly newsletters, I would say that you and I do not share the same set of values and concerns, and therefore I must conclude that you do not represent me or the majority of people, and you seem to have no desire to do so.
Thank you for taking the time to listen. A response will be welcomed.
Sincerely,
Jill Dennison — citizen, voter, taxpayer
I’ll let you all know when/if I receive a response. I usually do get one, but it’s typically a canned response written by an aide, or perhaps even by AI!
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