…and have promptly been ignored.
Yes, I’m talking about the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. In this mother’s opinion, she is completely unqualified…unless the only qualification one needs is lots of money in the “right places” in which case she is ABUNDANTLY qualified.
Yes, I’m ANGRY.
Yes, I’M FURIOUS!
And if by some miracle this woman actually does something to help the American educational system I will GLADLY eat my words. (But I’m not counting on that.)
My immediate gut angry reaction was to think, I will NEVER vote Republican again. But unlike most of our Congressional representatives, I actually think before I act. Living by that vow, I would be no better than those who clearly voted along party lines instead of for what the people wanted. (Thank you to Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine who voted their conscious and NOT their party. Or at least that is what I’d like to think; perhaps they had ulterior motives.)
Let me just say the Democrats don’t get a pass from me. While partisanship may have been blatantly obvious to everyone else for years, it was this issue that made it clear to me. And while I may agree with them on this issue, there are others that I do not and most of them follow the same party line. I want to scream from the highest mountaintop: IT’S NOT ABOUT PARTIES; IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE! I’m sure that would fall on deaf ears as well
What can I do? How can I take this burning anger and frustration and not act like a spoiled brat and scream and cry about it? (Remember “Passion Or Pain In The A..” ?). Two things immediately come to mind:
1. Not to give up. To stay aware of issues that affect me and am passionate about and to let my representatives know what I am thinking. (Look out Senator Robert Menendez, Senator Cory Booker, and Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen!) Supposedly you work for me and it’s time you started listening to what I have to say. (And I encourage everyone else do to the same.) There will be emails and phone calls when necessary. You’ve got a job to do and I want you to do it well. But when it comes down to issues that I feel passionate about, you’re going to hear from me and I’m holding you accountable. Forget about Big Brother is watching you; BFTH is watching you.
2. I no longer feel comfortable being affiliated with either major political party. BOTH have let me down. BOTH are more focused on themselves than their constituents. While I have not decided if I will align with a third party or just declare myself unaffiliated, I WILL remove the label of Democrat or Republican from my name. I am NOT a party; I am ME and anyone looking for a vote from me had better remember it.
If you thought Angry Mama was just a microwave cleaner (and a very effective one, I hear), you were wrong. I am an Angry Mama, but I am also an Action Mama. Just watch and see.
Beth Shorten is a life-long resident of Verona. For more than four years, she has been chronicling life here on her personal site, Bfth’s Boring Blog.
