My Yang Story

   

        I’m a fifty-four year old lesbian who has fallen in love with a man ten years my junior and joined a gang. Here’s how it happened.

            I was watching the first Democratic debate and saw this Asian guy with no necktie who said if he wins, everyone gets $1000 each month. I said to myself, “Ok, I’ll vote for this guy,” convinced I’d never again hear the name, Andrew Yang. The next day, he was still on my mind. I hopped on Twitter to see what some of the candidates were saying and noticed this hashtag, #YangGang. I’m still not sure I understand what a hashtag means, exactly. I then started following Andrew Yang and garnered some understanding as to this man’s vision. He wants people to live better lives. Period. His campaign slogan is Humanity First. His catch phrase is, Not Left. Not Right. Forward. Then I saw the hats that simply say, MATH. I hate math, the academic discipline, and thought, “maybe this isn’t for me.” After a bit of research, I learned that MATH stands for Make America Think Harder. Yes! Thinking has been missing for quite some time in our American political system. So this guy wants to work for humanity, unite the country, better the lives of countless Americans, and encourages thinking. Wow, I’m all in. Those are my ideals; the ideological tenets of my political philosophy.

            Debate two came up and I fell harder. He appeared again without a necktie and commented how surprised he was that media outlets even cared about that sort of nonsense. His wardrobe, like his ideas, do not conform to traditional politics. That is when “like” became “love” for me. When mainstream media started leaving him off the polls and the DNC didn’t even seem to know who he is, I knew he was on to something. Donald Trump still will not mention his name…he’s afraid to engage and give Andrew the media attention. Trump supporters are joining our Yang Gang and I couldn’t be happier. The Gang is diverse in all aspects: political, social, economic, cultural, ethnic, age, sexual orientation, gender or lack thereof, religion. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. That is the attraction for me; a truly united country.

            The third debate showed me a few things. First, Andrew’s proposal to test the Freedom Dividend by selecting ten people to receive $1000 monthly for one year. It was laughed at by other candidates; it was cheered by his supporters. To run a pilot program at the cost of $120,000 rather than spend that money on advertisements that do nothing but smear other candidates, is inspired. Second, ABC set rules for the participants and not one person other than Andrew followed the rules. They all agreed, promised, to abide by the guidelines, yet each thought what she had to say was more important than anyone else. Except Andrew. Yang was the only person up there who kept his word. That’s what I want from my president.

            I have been politically engaged and voting since I was eighteen years old. I am fifty-four now. I am considered disabled and live on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), something for which I worked extremely hard. I have numerous medical and prescription expenses. The Freedom Dividend will enhance my life. Not only will it help me financially, it will allow me to provide more for others. Our nation will prosper. People who have no homes will again have means. People in abusive situations will have the means to flee. Stay at home parents and caregivers will be compensated for the amazing work they perform. There are so many more situations to list.

            Andrew Yang saved me from political disengagement. He has given me hope and made me care again. He is not a “cookie-cutter” politician. I was registered as an Independent and switched to Dem in order to vote for Yang. I donated a small amount to his campaign, which averages $25 per donation. There are no corporate interests here. I am driving my friends crazy with my endorsements of this man. These are all firsts for me. I have renewed hope for the future of our country and humanity as a whole. Thank you, Andrew.

Border Madness

I learned something new today. What I learned today reinforced something I learned long ago. What I learned is that government funded agencies cannot receive donations of goods or money so as to keep said agency from being beholden to any individual or corporation. Makes sense when a cursory reading is done. What if we think…not something our leaders want us to do…and understand what this really means in relation to the internment camps operating along the southern U.S. border.

People trying to donate clothing, water, diapers, hygiene supplies, and other items to these “camps,” are being turned away. Hang on, I can’t keep using the word “camps.” That word connotes summer camp and fun. So, let’s just call it what it is; Human Impound. Now, at the Impound, human beings are in need of essential supplies. The government is not providing and the Impounds cannot accept donations. Does that seem odd to anyone else? Ordinarily when the government needs money, they just raise taxes and spend as they best see fit. These are the elected officials who supposedly represent their constituents. How did they get elected? They ran successful campaigns. How did they do that? Through extraordinary campaign funding; funding from individuals and yes, corporations. Are they not therefore beholden to those who donated to their campaigns? Why was money accepted? Why were hats and t-shirts (clothing) accepted as donations? The answer is simple; the government doesn’t just want your money, they want to be in control of your money.

Lobbyists. Show of hands: How many think one or two members of congress are beholden to Big Pharma or the Gun Lobby? Based on the logic employed by the government, no donations, monetary or otherwise, can be accepted by any member of congress for any reason so as not to skew bias to one group or another. As we know all too well, that is not the case. Which brings me to what was rigorously reinforced in me today; the empowered entities (lobbies more so than government individuals) of the world are hypocrites. Further, most in that group believe “we the people” are idiots.

Tax dollars for bombs are acceptable; donations to aid the refugees the bombs create are not.