Stars aligned for me to join a group of fellow Western Washington RESULTS members, 24 strong this year, to the International Conference in Washington DC for training, networking, and lobbying. I take the issue important to ONE, to Bread for the World, to Jubilee USA, and to RESULTS with me when I meet with or write to my representative and others in our nation’s leadership. Not all at once, but all are in pursuit of the same bottom line, giving the least of the earth their rightful place at the conference tables of the world. Until they are strong enough to sit there, we all can help find and hold them a seat.

The lobby day for Bread and RESULTS this year fell on Tuesday, June 12th, and it was an immensely busy day on the floor of congress with the voting lasting late into the evening, bumping a banquet reservation out from many we invited, including my Congressman Rick Larsen. But he took 30 minutes out of his busy day to spend with three of us his constituents.

My topic of presentation was a request for cosigning onto HR 2266, The Child Survival Act. I shared how I lost my newborn son to an infection discovered too late for lack of an antibiotic I could have attained at my local chemist for less than 25p. My second son, same infection, simple antibiotic, and he’s 16 now. Annually two million little ones, under five years old, are losing their lives due to lack of medicines that are available at our local chemists, local pharmacies. Even tho we no longer have our child we never stop being their mom, their birthday rolls around every year. and mothers in highly-indebted poor countries miss their’s as much as I miss mine. Just when we think we’re over it, someone’s infant or child-sized funeral brings it all back, all too often. These moms in these countries experience this all too often as a regular fabric of their lives.

At the Vote ’08 launch the previous day, Senator Frist shared something that effected me deeply. He spoke of a trip to Kenya, of how the local children come out to greet the visitors, and of how a boy had a toddler brother by his side. After introductions, when asked who the little one was, the brother said his name was America. Interesting name, said the senator. Yes sir, my mom named him America because he is alive thanx to America.

Bono had shared that when discussing what eventually became PEPFAR with President Bush. He shared what good advertisement these pills could be America, and to paint the pills red, white, and blue if we wished. I think that is what happened here. I secretly wondered why homeland security dollars weren’t considered for this.

I later checked the bills on Thomas.gov website for a weekly report to our Seattle group leader on cosigners, and in the busy-ness of the day, my congressman paused to co-signed onto the issues we asked him. And I’m extremely grateful, I wrote and told him so. We won’t always bat 1000, Babe Ruth didn’t either. But our congressmen and women are more than often parents, have parents, all really have good hearts that want the best for us and the for the world. Often they just need to be reminded in the tyranny of the urgent of the things that are important, and have expressed appreciation for those of us who do remind them of these important matters.

Overall I met with three local congressmen, two congressional aides, my Senator Patty Murray, and Senator Cantwell’s aide, not necessarily for the first time but first time in DC. A congressional breakfast. Dinner with Stephen Lewis as a speaker. Joint session with Bread for the World at American University. If I can do this, anyone can . . . . with some correspondence and planning, your congressmen’s doors are open and we are welcome there, in your district or in DC. It comes with our citizenship, our unique form of government, yes, “we the people.” I’d rather sit on the couch near them and interact honestly and graciously than carry a placard or complain of how it is, we can individually and corporately effect change, especially to be a voice for the voiceless. In our obscene comfort of the west, it’s at most a mild inconvenience to partake in these processes. Many of us have been inspired to pursue these issues. But now, I’ve had a taste of how good it is and how good it can become, of how we’re being heard and taken seriously, and I’m more than inspired, I just can’t NOT do this stuff. I’m no longer inspired, I’m infected.

Stay close, Sammi in Seattle =)

This entry was posted on Monday, June 25th, 2007 at 8:30 am and is filed under The ONE Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.