Born This Way

Ever wonder why someone is a liberal or a conservative? Yes, it's all about beliefs, where you grew up, and how you were raised. If that were the sole influence, I would be a bluedog Democrat, not the raging liberal that I am. Recently I've discovered some of the triggers that have shaped my liberal bent over the years. Perhaps the earliest was having an Aunt Genie in my life.

As a child, I spent a lot of time with my Aunt Genie. She was my mother's oldest sister, a tiny gentlewoman who lived with her mother -- my grandmother -- in a big, old house near the high school. She never attended school beyond the third grade. She never married, never had a beau. She never held a job, never drove a car.

You see, Aunt Genie had contracted polio as a child in the 1920s. It robbed her body of its muscles, leaving her weak, stiff and drawn. She walked with a cane, couldn't climb stairs or get in and out of a regular bathtub. She couldn't grip with her hands or raise her arms above her head. As she aged, her condition was further complicated by the ravages of rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that runs in our family.

While she could, she helped to care for her nieces and nephews. She kept a small dog as company for many years. She even lived on her own, demonstrating a remarkable streak of independence that countered her own need for assistance. In her later years, she sadly and angrily questioned her lot in life. But who among us hasn't questioned -- and with far lesser reasons -- why things happen the way they do?

Despite her condition, Aunt Genie, with help from my mother, had to fight for basic human necessities -- food, shelter, and medical care. She received a small disability stipend and some Social Security. She lived in subsidized housing. And she received some general assistance and food stamps. I remember her food stamp allowance amounted to $15 a month. (Honestly, who could live on $15 worth of food for a month? Somehow, she managed.)

Watching this determined little woman stirred something in my conscience. I knew that Aunt Genie had family to help her, but family couldn't be responsible for all of her needs. And, I thought about those who didn't have family support. Who would help them?

It was then, as a small child, I formed the most liberal, almost socialist, opinion that my young mind could conjure. I came to believe that a government of, by and especially for the people must help those who cannot help themselves. The young, the elderly, the physically and mentally challenged, even those whose temporary circumstances prevent them from fulfilling basic human needs must be helped by our government.

It's in our Declaration of Independence -- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It's in the Preamble to our Constitution -- promote the general welfare.

In short, I came to realize -- quite proudly -- that I had become a liberal. Education and events, other people and circumstances throughout my life have further shaped and firmed my liberal resolve. But the seed was planted by Aunt Genie's circumstances.

Yes, I believe that we also must help each other. But for those like Aunt Genie, their needs extend far beyond what individuals and service groups can provide. Who can step in at that point? Now, more than ever, I believe that our government has a responsibility to help the less fortunate. And yet, Congress continues to take away from them, discounting their needs and their value in our society.

Conservatives will claim that it is a matter of fiscal responsibility. I say it is a matter of values and priorities. Do we, as a nation, value corporations or do we value our people? I say that America must value its people . . . people like Aunt Genie. For those who would say I am wrong, I challenge them to live as Aunt Genie did -- a life of pain and uncertainity dependent upon family and others to provide what she could not.

And, despite current thought in this country, I happen to believe I'm on the right track, baby.