I really try not to bring up politics or religion in any conversation…I know those are taboo subjects, but I’m going to have to say something today.

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of visiting a local business, C. Miller Drilling.  I found out during lunch via the Operations Manager, that Mr. Miller had become somewhat of a media sensation last year when he wrote a disgruntled letter to then-elect Barack Obama.  Anyway, I was given a copy of the letter and read it on my way home.  Some of you may have already received this letter via email, but here it is in its 4 page entirety:

http://www.cmillerdrilling.com/files/cory_the_well_driller.pdf

As I read it aloud to my husband while he was driving, I was not only impressed by the articulate and succinct wording of this letter, but I literally felt my heart fill with American “Can-Do” attitude and pride.  I also felt simultaneously angered, because, I too share Mr. Miller’s views on many levels.

Being the wife/office manager of a small business owner, I can feel Mr. Miller’s emotions in every sentence that he wrote.  If you think that owning a small business is easy, you’ve obviously never owned a business before! I get to witness firsthand, everyday, the hard work, dedication, and sheer pain that it sometimes takes to keep a business afloat.  My husband has kept his business going for 13 years…I can only imagine how intensely difficult it was to begin.  I do know, for a fact, that the local bank refused to give him a loan, because, as they told him, “If we needed that kind of business around here, we’d already have one here.”  I do know, for a fact, that he sometimes worked around the clock, all through the night, to turn out enough jobs so he would make enough money to pay vendors that month.  I also know that he has had 13 years of extreme physical and mental anguish that go along with running a business.  I also happen to know how sickening it is that we pay several 10’s of thousands in taxes yearly, to find out that our tax dollars are possibly, and probably going to built a high-speed train from Disneyland to Las Vegas (to the tune of 80 BILLION DOLLARS, I couldn’t make that up), or something just as equally ludicrous. 

What I’m getting at is this:  If you aren’t pissed off about what’s going on with our government, you need to open your eyes.  I used to be one of those people, in my 20s, who had never voted and didn’t really care who was in Congress or President or whatever.  Because at the time, I naively believed that those people ‘up there’ didn’t make a difference in my life.  That what they did didn’t directly affect me.  Well, times they are a-changin’.  NOW, I know that I am directly affected by whatever happens in D.C.  And I hope that you know that, too.  It’s so easy to sit back and put on your blinders and try not to pay attention to what is really going on in this world.  I know, because I did that for so long.  But please realize that changes that are made in the laws and government and whatnot will affect you, and definitely not always for the better. 

I do not pledge my allegiance to any one political party.  I will vote for the better man/woman, or, in some cases, the lesser of two evils.  I’m not an Obama-basher, even though I didn’t vote for him. I did give him a chance, which I think he totally has blown. 

I’m sorry if you’re rolling your eyes because I am on my political soapbox, but I really believe that as a nation, we’re in trouble.  I’m sorry if you think I’m a conservative nutjob, but the reality for us is that as small business owners, we are being eyeballed by the government, who are trying to tax the hell out of us.  If you don’t agree, maybe you should swing by and take a peek at what I have to pay in taxes a year. 

So, Mr. Cory Miller of C. Miller Drilling, hats off to you. Your letter reflects my feelings perfectly; I only wish that my tired old brain could have said it as well as you managed to.