We the Seniors
A New Senior Council is Formed
by Judy Loeb, President, Seniors Taking Action
On May 5, The Grassroots Connector published my article “Calling All Seniors”, on behalf of Seniors Taking Action, about the fears older Americans are facing around Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
I talked about an effort to form a “senior council” so that senior groups around the country could speak with one powerful voice about these issues.
The response to the article was very positive and we were contacted by many groups wanting to join us. Uniting under the name “We The Seniors” 21 groups have so far signed on to coordinate our messaging, share a common logo, and participate in demonstrations and protests in their respective states.
In addition to speaking out about the threats to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, we will also address the danger to democracy, the rule of law and destruction of America’s most valuable institutions.
As Ron Burd of the Grand Connection in Philadelphia, PA, a participating group said:
“I think a good use of our collective and growing energy would be to expose the impact of what some of the policies and legislation are doing - not just to seniors, but folks that seniors care about in this country. I think telling stories of what real life American citizens are experiencing would be a powerful use of our efforts”.
Mary Mulvihill, founder of Seniors Taking Action, added “Individually, we are alerting our friends and neighbors of the threat but we can reach a larger audience and build resistance by making our network larger and more effective. Seniors have built families, businesses and communities. We have experience, expertise, resources, and time. We fear for the future of our kids and grandchildren…. And WE VOTE!
We The Seniors is currently preparing a press release to be distributed to both online and print news sources. It will include the names of the participating groups There is strength in numbers. If your group would like to join us in this endeavor, please contact me here or at judyloeb2@gmail.com.
And, we’re most excited to announce that on July 9th at 11AM ET Robert Hubbell will host a panel discussion by zoom in which leaders of some of the groups will discuss our shared plans.
The zoom link is here: Click here to join the Zoom.
If you are part of a group and want to amplify your voices, please join us! If you’re an individual interested in these issues, please join us!
We have a lot to say. Together, we will be heard.
For more information or to contact our group, email: WetheseniorsUSA@gmail.com
This is great news. Thanks to those who organized it. The whole will be greater than the sum of its parts.
Sam Might Call Us a Committee of Correspondence
In the decade leading up to the American Revolution, communications among communities in the British colonies were very limited. While there were newspapers being published in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Charleston and other cities, circulation was small and localized so spreading ideas, particularly grievances against George III and his government, were hard to share.
But then along came Samuel Adams who was not just an advocate for reform and ultimately revolution; he was what today we call “a loud activist” . He built a network of like thinkers in Massachusetts towns and later throughout the colonies that he called “Committees of Correspondence” that fostered the exchange of news and ideas among people who knew little of what was going on beyond their own village or plantation. Not easy; no FedEx. Everything came on a horse. It could take weeks to get a copy of a Boston broadsheet reporting on the Stamp Act to Savannah; likewise, news of cotton production in South Carolina might take even longer to reach the north.
Adams got people thinking, writing, and talking about common issues with shared information, strategies to get relief from local governors and the King’s government in London. In her splendid Adams biography, Stacy Schiff documented how the man she titled “The Revolutionary” even got people to use the same terms which made the work of the Continental Congress easier and more understandable to folks in diverse regions.
So too, the We the Seniors initiative being organized now by Seniors Taking Action can help build consensus and cooperation among peers and groups around the country on the critical issues affecting older Americans and the Trump administration’s threats to our democracy. We can share priorities, tactics, successes and even web sites. Most of all, together we can become a louder voice and be heard.
While our effort might not cause a brewery to label a new lager in our honor, we can draw a lot of satisfaction from knowing we are making our views known and our commitment to protect the future of our precious democracy .
mort goldfein