What Americans mean · Secure Your Benefits Premium

Shauna Rodriguez

5h • Coffee Talk

What Americans mean

I’m getting sick and tired of being told one thing while living another.

Do I know what’s true anymore? no.

Do I follow every political talking point? Absolutely not.

But I do know what I see.

I see the price of gas.

I see the grocery bill.

I see electric bills.

I see insurance.

I see mortgages.

I see working people busting their ass and still wondering if there’s going to be enough left over when payday comes around.

And every election, we hear about how things are going to change.

This president is going to fix it.

That administration is going to fix it.

This war caused it.

That administration caused it.

Blame this. Blame that.

Folks, at some point I don’t give care who gets the credit or who gets the blame.

I want America to be a place where working people can afford to live and retired can enjoy what they worked for all their life.

That’s what “making America great” means to me.

It means a man can work his butt off all week and actually have something to show for it. It means when you no longer can work, you don't get a hand out but get what you worked so hard for and that is dignity when your body has gave out.

It means a family can take a vacation without spending the next six months recovering financially.

It means you can walk into a store, buy what your family needs, and not stand there doing math in your head wondering whether buying groceries is going to leave enough money for the electric bill.

It means you don’t have to be sixty years old, completely worn down, and finally debt-free before you get permission to enjoy the life you worked your whole damn life for.

Because here’s the truth:

We only get one shot at this thing.

One life.

One chance to make memories with our kids.

One chance to take that trip.

One chance to sit on that porch.

One chance to watch our families grow.

One chance to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

And I don’t believe enjoying life should be reserved for the wealthy or the lucky.

I’m a blue-collar woman. I believe in working for what you have. I believe in earning it. I believe in getting your hands dirty and doing your part.

But working hard shouldn’t mean spending your entire existence just trying to survive.

America shouldn’t be a place where you’re proud because you managed to make it from one paycheck to the next.

We should be building a country where working hard gives you a chance to actually live.

I’m not asking for handouts.

I’m asking for a fighting chance.

A chance to raise your kids, pay your bills, put a little money away, take a vacation, fix something when it breaks, and maybe sit down at the end of the day without that knot in your stomach wondering what’s coming next.

I don’t care what side of the political fence you’re on.

Democrat. Republican. Independent. I don’t care about politics at all.

At the end of the day, most of us are just Americans trying to make it through this crazy thing called life.

And I think we ought to be able to do more than just survive it.

We ought to be able to live it.

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What Americans mean