Mindy's Response to We the People Are Coming

This letter may represent the consensus of many people in this country, but it doesn’t represent all, and possibly not even a majority. The letter may be useful in that it helps me understand the beliefs that some people have about what is currently going on in our government, but it is not helpful to me as I try to make decisions about how I will participate in our government as a citizen.

For one thing, I’m not sure about the truth of some of her claims. I will point out just two of them, the ones about ACORN. The letter’s author claims that ACORN will be “in charge of our 2010 census” and that “mandatory escrow fees” are contributed to them “every time on every real estate deal that closes.” I don’t know where that second accusation comes from, but here are two links to FactCheck.org that refute the first one, and possibly the second one. If you have evidence that supports those claims, please send them on. My point here, however, is not to get into a discussion about the merits or evils of ACORN—I don’t know much about the organization, except that it has gotten a lot of attention on conservative news programs. My point is simply that a letter with this kind of misinformation in it is not helpful. Even if some of the letter writer’s points have merit, I am prone to distrust what she has to say because the letter includes such clear untruths.

Also, the general tone of the letter is rather presumptuous. She claims to be speaking for “patriotic Americans” and “we, the people”. But America is a very diverse country, and many Americans have differing views on the role of government and how the current administration is doing. The letter asks, “Do you honestly think your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans?” Well, there are patriotic Americans who believe the administration’s current pursuits have merit. She says, “You will represent us, or you will be replaced by someone who will.” But there are many Americans who do feel the current administration represents them.

I’m not sure exactly what the author’s intentions were in writing this letter. Her goal, apparently, is to encourage people to vote the current administration and Congress out of office. That is all well and good. But she is trying to do this by implying that she represents all “patriotic” Americans, and by making several accusations against current government policy which may or may not be true. What if, instead, she were to seek out those Americans with whom she disagrees to have an honest and humble conversation? It would be much more helpful to me if this woman, and others like her, would find someone who sees this situation differently and listen to them with a real desire for understanding to find out why they think differently, and then humbly explain their own views. That, of course, is the reason I wanted to start this blog.

So, let’s continue the conversation…