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I live in Shenandoah County, Virginia. I\u2019m a factory worker. A farmer. A father of two
\ngirls, one still in diapers. I get up before the sun, and most days I don’t sit down until
\nafter it’s gone.<\/p>\n
My partner Hannah and I raise our girls on a small farm in the Valley. She works
\nfull-time too-though nobody calls it that. She’s a caregiver, a homemaker, a livestock
\nhandler, and a mother. She doesn’t get a paycheck. She doesn’t get a break. She
\ndoesn’t get counted.<\/p>\n
We’ve relied on a cistern for water for over three years. I’m trying to save up to dig a
\nwell before it runs dry. We heat with firewood I cut myself. We raise animals for milk,
\neggs, and meat because the grocery bill outpaces my paycheck.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve stayed unmarried\u2014not because we don\u2019t love each other, but because getting
\nmarried would kick my partner and our daughters off the Medicaid that keeps them
\nhealthy.<\/p>\n
My employer offers insurance, sure\u2014but only if I pay nearly as much as our mortgage. I
\ncan\u2019t, so we stay as we are; in love but locked out.<\/p>\n
I’m not ashamed of our life. It’s honest work, and it’s full of love. However, I am ashamed that in a country as wealthy as ours, people like us are left out in the cold.<\/p>\n
When the so-called \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d passed, it was marketed as a win for working
\nAmericans. From where I stand, it looks like the opposite. Cuts to Medicaid, reduced
\nsupport for struggling families, and a ballooning deficit that somehow still leaves us
\nmore exposed than before.<\/p>\n
You can dress it up however you want, but if it leaves working families behind, it’s not
\nserving the people.<\/p>\n
This bill, like so many before it, rewards the already powerful while punishing the
\npeople who hold up the economy in invisible ways. It gives to those who lobby and
\ntakes from those who labor. It reinforces a message I\u2019ve felt in my bones for years:
\nYou\u2019re on your own.<\/p>\n
I’m not writing this as a Democrat or a Republican. I’m writing this as a man watching
\nfamilies like mine wear themselves thin; working hard, doing the right things, and still
\nfalling behind.<\/p>\n
This isn’t about Red or Blue. It’s about the fact that we’re being divided against each
\nother while both sides forget that real Americans bleed the same when the cost of
\ninsulin triples or the cost of groceries goes up again.<\/p>\n
You shouldn’t be able to carry a hundred dollars’ worth of groceries in two hands. But
\nthese days, you can-and that’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m writing to ask one simple thing: Who is this country really for?<\/p>\n
Because if it\u2019s not for parents doing their best to raise good kids in a broken system\u2026
\nIf it\u2019s not for factory workers and farmers who show up every day, no matter how little
\nis left in the tank\u2026
\nIf it\u2019s not for families trying to make a life from the land and a paycheck\u2026
\nThen maybe the flag doesn\u2019t wave for all of us after all.<\/p>\n
I don’t want handouts. I want fairness. I don’t want politics. I want policy that works.<\/p>\n
I don’t want a revolution of violence. I want a revolution of responsibility-one where we
\ntake care of each other, where people can raise a family without choosing between
\ngroceries and medicine, and where love doesn’t have to take a back seat to red tape.<\/p>\n
So, if you’re in power, hear me: We are not okay. We are drowning quietly.<\/p>\n
And if you’re not in power, but you’re reading this and nodding along, then know this:
\nyou’re not alone either.<\/p>\n
We’re not enemies. We’re neighbors.We’re parents, workers, and caretakers. And it’s time we start acting like it.<\/p>\n
With respect,
\nA father holding faith<\/p>\n
This article<\/a> first appeared on The Daily Yonder<\/a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.