Saturday, June 28, 2014
President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006
Dear Mr. President,
I was inspired to write to you after listening to you speak
in Minneapolis. I was not able to
attend any of the functions during your visit to Minnesota but your words on
Friday, June 27th prompted me to write to you. I write to ask for your help. I suppose you could call me a man who
grew up middle class (albeit in a highly dysfunctional family) in Texas. I left the state after completing my
undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University. I left partly due to the very conservative politics that
predominate in that state.
First let me speak to your efforts to make our healthcare
system more equitable and accessible.
Thank you for your efforts.
I would perhaps be out on the streets now if I didn’t have Medical
Assistance insurance by virtue of my residency here in the state of
Minnesota. I briefly became very
sick last summer; near the end of June, 2013 I was unexpectedly diagnosed with
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
This came as an immense surprise to me due to the fact that I had done
therapy earlier in my life to address issues of trauma from my very early
childhood. I am much healthier now
and am finally working again.
I also wanted to write to you in regards to the
economy. Thank you for your
efforts to restore the health of the American economy. I only wish the recovery was providing
more benefits to me directly. I
have an extensive education and professional history; I completed my second
graduate degree in international environmental policy at the Monterey Institute
of International Studies in 2011.
I briefly lived in the DC area in 2012 in the hope of launching a career
within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That unfortunately did not happen. I have since decided to refocus my
career search. I have attached my
resume in the event you would like to look over my background.
I do wish that the Republican party would offer some viable
and realistic proposals for strengthening the American economy. Instead the GOP seems to have become
the party of the wealthy, for the wealthy and by the wealthy. I have nothing against wealthy people
but I do find the distortion of the public policy process by the influence of
special interests (often made possible by the influence of money) to be
ridiculous and highly contrary to the spirit of a supposed democracy. I think the issue of gun violence is a
good example of how special interests are undermining the stability of our
nation. And this brings me to my
primary reason for writing.
I have alluded to my ongoing recovery from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. I experienced a
significant amount of trauma in my early life history. Mental illness and domestic violence
were prominent issues. My first
stepmother attempted to murder my father.
One of the murder attempts was made by a teenager with a gun. Due to her own inappropriate conduct
and corruption in the local police department of the suburb I grew up in my
former stepmother was never prosecuted for her criminal activity. To my knowledge the hospital where my
father was admitted after being shot (Parkland Hospital) did not do any
thorough assessment of my father’s mental health prior to his discharge. I am of the opinion that someone
attempting to murder you can potentially quite easily cause someone to develop
PTSD. I suspect the hospital was
not more proactive or thorough in its care because it was 1982 and this
occurred in Texas. Texas has never
been especially known for its highly progressive social policies. To my knowledge the Texas Department of
Family and Protective Services also failed to fulfill its duty to ensure my
protection and safety. I was
returned to my father’s custody. I
have never found my father’s way of dealing with hardship and trauma to be very
healthy. I am thus still working
out the harm of my un-chosen early life history in my own time.
I write to ask that you please advocate on behalf of the
children of this nation to improve policies that directly affect their basic
safety, nurture, family stability and future prospects. If a number of institutions had
performed better back in 1982 I might be in a much better place now some
thirty-two years later. I try not
to be bitter, cynical or angry.
But healing can be a very challenging journey. And I am doing my healing with essentially no support from
my paternal family of origin. As I
noted previously I am very fortunate to have my health insurance. I find those who would deprive other
Americans of the basic protection of healthcare to be highly irresponsible and
even amoral. I believe health care
is a basic human right.
I would appreciate anything you could do to help me directly
as well. I am currently trying to
understand why the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services failed to
intercede on my behalf after my father was nearly murdered. I may never have certain questions
answered. I will have to go on
with my life nonetheless. As
the President of the United States you have a special and powerful role to play
in ensuring American children will have good futures. Please do not forget stories like my own. Let stories such as my own inform and
inspire your commitment to serving the needs of all Americans.
I write a blog in which I document my own recovery from
trauma. You are welcome to read
from it and share with others. The
web address is below.
Sincerely and in good faith,
CW
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I invite you to accompany me as I document my own journey of healing. My blog is designed to offer inspiration and solace to others. If you find it of value I welcome you to share it with others. Aloha!