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I am not ‘the other’ America

Valley forum

  In response to the Nov. 23 Op-Ed by Rob Schwarzenwalder and Cathy Ruse (“For half of America, big government sounds good”), I take extreme exception to being referred to as “the other America.” I am not “other.” 

  I am as fully “America” as any Republican and as equally thoughtful about my voting choices. I didn’t vote Democrat because I like being dependent upon government, or because I was given things by the Obama administration, nor was I capricious in making my decision.

  I voted Democrat because we apparently need a powerful government to prevent big business owners from destroying our economy, because I’m a woman who does not want the government to make decisions regarding the bodies of young women, because I believe that “from those to whom much is given, much is expected” and that the top 2 percent should pay more taxes, that the United States should pay more attention to the hungry here at home than to wars outside our borders, that public education is important enough to make sure we support it, that the Affordable Health Care Act is vastly important, that Social Security is not an entitlement to those of us who pay into it and that it is not a factor in the national debt, that my personal voice matters more than the voice of a corporation that seeks to strip its workers of rights, and which, by the way, is NOT a person.

  I voted Democrat because I don’t think loading the table with food and hoping some will “trickle down” to me is reasonable, because I don’t care who marries whom – everyone should have equal rights to all things, including marriage – because I believe in the separation of church and state, because I do not believe this is a Christian nation, but a democracy encompassing and including people of many faiths and many who do not “believe”. 

  I voted Democratic because I believe in a nation that despises racism, a nation that encourages difference, a nation that assumes the best of people, not one that assumes everyone on welfare is scamming honest workers.

  It was a thought-out choice, not some hair-brained scheme to keep the Republicans from “saving the country.” I think anyone or any political party that trivializes the reasons the electorate voted as it did needs to listen well to Bobby Jindal, who reminded the Republicans after they lost that, first, they must love the people they seek to represent.

  It’s pretty clear that women are not highly regarded by the GOP, at least not their ability to make important personal decisions about pregnancy or as influential members of Congress – witness the assignment of committee roles by John Boehner.

  As long as the GOP diminishes me or trivializes my thinking, as long as I am a woman, it is pretty clear where I will cast my vote, and it will be for the party which, after careful thought and consideration, embodies the most of what I believe offers the greatest benefit and potential for growth for this nation. I trust that’s why others voted as I did.

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  Donita Grace is a resident of Sonoma Valley.