Every month I try to write a letter to Pennsylvania Senators Dave McCormick and John Fetterman. I need to express to them my dissatisfaction with the current state of the United States. I don’t participate much in politics; nor do I consider myself an activist. But, I am concerned about social justice, I vote in every election, I pay attention to reputable news organizations, to what politicians are doing and how their actions affect the social fabric of the nation, the welfare of Americans, the economy, and the culture. Because I don’t like crowds, I don’t often go to protests or rallies, though I did attend the two “No Kings” events in Philadelphia in June and in October. I don’t like to knock on doors. I don’t like to make phone calls. I think much of this aversion to that kind of grassroots activism goes back to when I was a teenager working for my father, who devoted his life to local politics. I was often with him at Democratic Headquarters in center city, especially right before any election he was involved in. I went with him to canvass neighborhoods, worked with the volunteers on mailings, and made cold calls from the mountainous lists of voters at headquarters. I hated the phone calls most of all. I also hated what I saw and heard behind the scenes, the trading of favors, the quid pro quo, the sometimes vicious machinations of politics, even while I realized that getting anything done requires negotiation and compromise. I often wonder what Buddy Pitts (my father) would think if he was alive today. Everyone was his “friend” it seemed when we’d be at political functions or fund-raisers, though I am sure he had enemies. He was a Republican when Nixon ran against Kennedy. He switched to the “D” side at some point. His politics had less to do with ideology and more to do with personality and the particular group of people who were in power at any given time.
But, it’s 2025 and I am living through what many call unprecedented times in the U.S. I have to express my point of view to the people in power, so I try to write a letter once a month. This month’s letter to Senator Dave McCormick is below. I address the senators directly, even though I know they are not, themselves, likely to read the letters they receive. Some staffer might read it and send a response; or maybe they just have stock responses? Who knows? I just have to do something.
Dear Senator McCormick,
I appreciate your response to my email of November which explained the difference between discretionary spending and mandatory spending. As a senior citizen relying on Social Security and Medicare, I am truly relieved that this funding was not affected during the shutdown. More of our representatives should address this distinction in public. And, I hope that the bill you cosponsored to prevent shutdowns will get some traction.
At this time, however, the president that you support is once again, going off the rails!
At an event in our state of Pennsylvania, he gave a speech (link to coverage in NPR News) that was intended to address inflation, but he veered off to attacking immigrants. I am sure you know about this. Perhaps you were there. Please don’t tell me you agree that it’s better for the U.S. to attract immigrants from Norway than from Somalia. This is not only reprehensible, it is absurd and absolutely racist. It is his strategy to distract middle class voters from the rising prices they are seeing.
We need immigrants from countries that are suffering. And we need to give them a chance to succeed. They do important jobs. An article in today’s (December 7) Washington Post noted that “(t)he tension is rapidly coming to the fore as changes in immigration policy threaten to squeeze the workforce. While foreign-born workers make up 19 percent of the U.S. labor force, they accounted for about 1 in 3 home care workers in 2023, according to a KFF analysis.” This is a concern for ME as I age. I cannot afford long-term care insurance, I don’t want to be in a nursing home, but I am going to age. I will need home care at some point in my life. It’s not just me, it’s people with disabilities, people who are in assisted living.
All immigrants are not criminals. I am the grandchild of immigrants from Sicily. They were not in the Mafia. My maternal grandfather worked at the Stetson hat factory his entire life and supported a family, his wife and 8 children in a small 3-bedroom rowhouse in South Philadelphia. I am proud of that heritage. I feel fortunate that my family was able to escape poverty in Sicily and make a decent life in Philadelphia. I also believe that most immigrants coming to America now are not unlike my grandparents. I believe they should be given that same opportunity.
I am a retired educator who was a first-generation college student. I spent over 25 years working with college students who were underprepared for college, as well as students with disabilities who required accommodations to access higher education. My professional life has been devoted to educating students to become critical thinkers and lifelong learners.
Please pay attention and consider my views on this issue.
Breathtakes 