Time to Get Mad—Again
AARP exists today because one retired educator from California lost her temper. Sixty years ago Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus went to visit a retired teacher. When she arrived at the woman's home, someone else was living there. The person Ethel was looking for lived out back … in an old chicken coop. She had no money and no medical insurance.
Ethel got mad. She couldn't believe that anyone who had dedicated her life to teaching children was forced to live in such dire conditions. She also got organized. With others, she started a campaign to get affordable health insurance for retired teachers. Well over 40 companies turned her down, but she persevered and succeeded. Eventually she decided to help other older Americans as well, and AARP was born.
Today, too many people-47 million-have no health insurance, and those who do see their health security eroding as costs rise and quality of care decreases. Millions of Americans also struggle for lifelong financial security, and most older people worry about their children, who for the most part are even worse off when it comes to health coverage and pensions and savings.
While this goes on, where are our political leaders? Stuck in gridlock, unwilling and unable to come together to fix these problems. In Washington, partisanship trumps problem solving just about every time.
So it's time to get mad again-and to get organized. That's what AARP is doing. We're reaching out to our members and other like-minded people and organizations fed up with our leaders' failure to get things done. We're demanding they lay partisanship aside to address the country's most pressing domestic issues-affordable, quality health care and lifelong financial security.
Our movement is called Divided We Fail. We began by uniting with the Business Roundtable and the Service Employees International Union. Last month the National Federation of Independent Businesses, representing 600,000 small businesses, added its voice to Divided We Fail. So did the Entertainment Industry Foundation (watch for our celebrity TV spots with calls for action). And faith communities called on their congregations during Divided We Fail Faith Week to focus on the moral imperative of health and financial security.
These issues affect everyone, and Divided We Fail is for everyone. The American dream isn't Republican or Democratic or independent-it belongs to us all. And we can all do our part to strengthen and preserve it.
As Divided We Fail grows, our millions of voices for change will press our political leaders to overcome partisanship and solve these problems. Many members of Congress have already signed the Divided We Fail pledge, and we are urging others to do so. We want answers, action, accountability.
Next month the process of deciding the presidential nominees begins. In just 11 months, the voters will elect a president and determine the makeup of a new Congress
.Now it's Ethel time-to get mad, get organized and demand action. Divided We Fail isn't about pointing fingers. It's about the voters electing people with big ideas and a commitment to finding solutions and giving everyone a shot at the American dream. Please get involved. Divided we fail, but together we can succeed.
