Writing a letter via a.drian. Lovely shot.

I’m contemplating a restart of the "You Work For Us Summer Tour."

Last time, the issue was FISA.  And all of us were seriously, seriously pissed.  And there was a unified front on pushing better government and accountability from everyone all at once.

This time?  Health care is on the plate in a big way in the national discussion prior to the August recess. 

What I sense is a unified feeling of disgust and dismay from everyone.  But not a central purpose and demand for action in terms of what ought to be done legislatively.

So, here’s my thought:  LizH had a fantastic idea about meeting face to face with legislators and with staffers to tell individual stories about health care issues we’ve all had:

Do you think we could arrange a nationwide day/week to stand in line at your representative’s office? Everybody come armed with a health story and a demand that a public option be available to every citizen.

I guess I’d like to ruin their vacation, as so many lives have been ruined from the shameful lack of health care coverage in this country. I want what they have – health care.

She provided a link to something that NAMI has done on that in the past as an example of what could be done. While I’d love to work on a single day of action, I don’t think it is practical given that the right wing has big finances behind shoving "socialism" down the national throat as a rebuttal point for the rest of the summer.

Here’s the thing: we are the last line of defense on health care. If we want something better, it is up to all of us to push for it. And push hard.

We’ don’t have Dick Armey’s PAC money financing us, all we have is our own will to make things better. But, honestly? I’d match our determination and gumption against Freedomworks slick bullshit maneuvers any day if we all got off our asses and did something together.

The big question is? Will we.

It is awfully easy to sit on the sidelines and grouse about things not being perfect. It’s harder to get up and do something about them. And what I’m asking — before I put the rest of my summer’s effort into this — is: are you willing to make the effort for better health care? (more…)