One thing I'll probably discuss on this blog is that I do not EVER want to have a child. I am not a fan of children. Lots of women around my age start sort of fangirling around children. They see a child, particularly a very young one, and are drawn to it, almost running to it like it's the Beatles, Backstreet Boys, and One Direction all rolled into one. I, on the other hand, try to run away. I will switch metro cars to get away from them. They terrify me and I do not like children. Two things about this though:
1) When I say I hate children, I mean I just don't want them to exist around me. I am fine with people having children. I just don't want to see them. I do want them to have their best possible life so they can grow into their best potential. I support good teachers and quality schools. I support them growing up in supportive households and eating good, nutritious food surrounded by books, physical activity, and people they love who love them.
2) Just because I don't have or want children does not mean that I do not see myself in some children. Read alone, that can almost sound creepy. What I mean is that some children today have a similar childhood that I had. I grew up in a household where my parents loved me but could not provide upper-class opportunities for me. And, those are kids who I do think deserve help.
During the recent federal government furlough, WIC was temporarily not working. WIC is like SNAP (the federal foodstamps program), but it is an acronym for women, infants, children. Despite my father having two (2!) jobs and my mother having two (also 2!) jobs when I was a kid, we received WIC assistance for a while. Also, the stimulus increased SNAP through late 2014. Due to a few different government interventions since, SNAP is only increased through the end of this month (October 2013). Translation? Families across the country are going to have their benefits cut. And, if the House has their way, SNAP benefits will be cut significantly.
There is some kind of thought process in the minds of folks in this country who have never been on the receiving end of government benefits that they are for drug-addled lazy people* only. That's not true. Families with working parents are being hurt. Extremely hurt. We never lived large, but we always had enough which made us lucky compared to families today who are struggling on SNAP.
I feel extremely sad for those kids who could be the future me. I currently hold a job that makes me (probably) middle class, meaning I was lucky enough to be equipped with the tools to move upward in the financial class system in the US. But what else I was equipped with was adequate nutrition. When I'm hungry today, I can't concentrate and hop down to the Starbucks by our office. These kids don't have that option. What does that mean for our future economy if people cannot move upward?
Republicans seem to be struggling to take away rights from these kids. (And not just kids who are small now, but folks headed to college. With interest rates AND tuition increasing, what chance do folks have of improving their economic standing?) It's like Congress is trying to kill chances of our country to move forward, and it's painful to see folks just like me (or at least kids in a similar environment) who aren't given the same opportunities as I am. How sad. The so-called 'American dream' (which is defined differently for all, but does include economic opportunity in the eyes of almost all) is dying and a major political party is killing it.
*I actually am fine with giving "drug-addled lazy people" (though I think such folks are extraordinarily rare) food. Everyone deserves food, even if they mess up. Even if they're messing up right now. Everyone deserves a basic standard, but many can only agree when I pull in innocents.
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