I Will Deny You
8th January 2002, 20:54
I've been paying taxes for years now. I'm studying to become a teacher in a public school, where I will try my hardest to save a system that's on the verge of collapsing despite the fact that it's one of the most cherished American institutions. How does the government thank me, you ask?
Here's how they don't thank me: They don't give me a Senator. They don't give me a US Representative.
I understand that the whole point of DC was that it would never be a state. At the time it was founded the North hated the South, and putting the capital right in the middle of the country was supposed to balance it out. Just like the government itself is balanced because it has three branches that represent the people.
Whoops. Now, I understand that the upstanding citizens of the District of Columbia have not shown a huge amount of discretion in the past (I was too young to vote for Marion Barry, so don't blame me for that!) but look who the rest of America elected: George W. Bush. All of a sudden, we're making jokes about you since YOU elected a cokehead. Ha! At least our cokehead can spell his own name. At least our cokehead's father isn't partially responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi children.
It would be hard to find a city with a more politically active population than DC's. Plenty of activist groups from around the country (and the world) have their headquarters here. We have (relatively) huge populations of college students. We're full of minorities and the underrepresented.
That's exactly why we deserve a congressman and two senators. And it's exactly why, at least with Republicans running the show, we won't get them.
Here's how they don't thank me: They don't give me a Senator. They don't give me a US Representative.
I understand that the whole point of DC was that it would never be a state. At the time it was founded the North hated the South, and putting the capital right in the middle of the country was supposed to balance it out. Just like the government itself is balanced because it has three branches that represent the people.
Whoops. Now, I understand that the upstanding citizens of the District of Columbia have not shown a huge amount of discretion in the past (I was too young to vote for Marion Barry, so don't blame me for that!) but look who the rest of America elected: George W. Bush. All of a sudden, we're making jokes about you since YOU elected a cokehead. Ha! At least our cokehead can spell his own name. At least our cokehead's father isn't partially responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi children.
It would be hard to find a city with a more politically active population than DC's. Plenty of activist groups from around the country (and the world) have their headquarters here. We have (relatively) huge populations of college students. We're full of minorities and the underrepresented.
That's exactly why we deserve a congressman and two senators. And it's exactly why, at least with Republicans running the show, we won't get them.