Ms. Perez Goes to Washington Part 2

Standing on Hallowed Grounds

I had no idea how many people would assemble on short notice, or be able to come on a weekday at noon, but I reasoned not many would come from Hawaii. If I were to visit my senators and representatives from Hawaii, I would stand in a small crowd. I decided not to carry a sign which could cause me to be perceived as a fringe loonie. I dressed business casual.

My concern was for my feet. Keep them warm, keep them comfortable. They might have to take me places, quickly. My flat dress shoe looked fine, but I knew by the end of the day they would feel like they pounded concrete…barefoot.

We stepped off the bus at 11:30 am, right in front of the Capitol. People were gathering and moving toward the white dome on the hill. At that time, I estimated the crowd to be a couple thousand, but I’m no Park Service Ranger, so what do I know? I do know that it kept growing and growing. As I edged my way closer to the Capitol, I turned to see the Washington Monument. Many more people had come.

People dressed in red white and blue. The young and old. Men and women. Black, Hispanics. People dressed in business suits. Vietnam Vets with bandanas and biker vests. Many carrying signs. Many picking up the chants “Kill The Bill” or “Nannnncy.” By the time Michelle took the microphone to welcome us to “our House” we were 10,000 strong. There is no freaking way they are going to let us into the offices of our elected officials. But after opening prayer, guest speakers Mark Levine, Jon Vogt, and numerous other concerned legislators and after we sang “God Bless America”, we were dismissed to go visit with our representatives.

I stood among the people and absorbed the moment. The first time I became aware of Washington DC and the sprawling spaces between the Capitol and the Washington Monument was during the sixties. Martin Luther King. I closed my eyes. I listened to his voice. His dream. I imaged the history, the construction, not of just of the magnificent building before me, but of the country that it represents. The labor, the sweat and the blood shed to build this place, this country. The vision, the struggle, the debate, and the demonstrations. The melding of thought and action, the deliberate creation of a country that stated “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”

I’ve been to Washington twice before, but as a tourist. The Smithsonian. The World War II Memorial. Other Memorials. Now I stood here as a patriot. I stood as a concerned citizen, as a voice for those who couldn’t come. I came because it was my responsibility, my obligation, my duty. I had a job to do. I can to protect our freedoms.

Pages of the Health Care Reform Bill were distributed. “Take one to your representative and ask them to explain it.” I never got one, but I’ve seen the bill. Four reams of paper. And yes it is triple spaced and the margins are wide, but the language is vague legalizee. It contains more taxes, the creation of a tangled web of government bureaucracy, mandates for coverage, abortion coverage, forced coverage, government committees deciding what coverage will be paid for and which will not, fines for citizens and doctors, employers and companies. It is a financial burden that any rational person knows will become an economic nightmare that con not be paid for. Thus rationing will take place.
I never got close enough to the steps to see a single speaker. But I heard ever speech, every word. I heard every prayer. I sang every song. And when dismissed, I set off to find my Senators.

The crowd was slow to disperse. Like lemmings we followed each other to someplace “over there.” I found myself scaling a wall to free myself from the masses that trapped themselves against. On the sidewalk I encounter a couple of sharply dressed men carrying leather briefcases. They dodged the throngs like a running backs headed for the goal line. Destinations in sight, but all these people were in their way. A look of inconvenience shadowed their squinter eyes. Probably medical device lobbyists.