Beware of Mama Bears

With more than 75 million Americans going without the health care they need, you’d think that people would be marching in the streets, demanding a solution to the shameful state of American healthcare.

That we have not yet reached the tipping point speaks to our resignation to the powers that control our government, namely the special interests that are profiting from our $2.2 trillion health care system. Some call this the "Politics of Cynicism." Deny people hope, and sure enough, they’ll go along with the status quo.

I refuse to accept this view of our democracy – obviously – since I’ve given up my paying job to drive a little purple school bus around the country to educate and motivate people to speak up for health care. I refuse to believe that we, the people, are powerless to change this disastrous state of affairs. My reason is that I refuse to resign my children to a bleak future.

We moms are like that. I think of us as Mama Bears. We see the world through our children’s eyes. We are willing to fight for their safety and well-being, and, most importantly, for their future. We don’t give up easily.

I met another Mama Bear the first day of my journey. Sharon Utiss-Thomas would move heaven and earth to save her son, Branko, who has Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism. Sharon lost her home to pay for Branko’s medicines, and she is working hard for change in North Carolina. Watch her video. I’m not the sentimental type, but I cried as I taped her story.

Stay tuned. I’ll be telling you about two more Mama Bears, Margaret Demko from Athens, Ohio, and Doreen Hodges from Washington, DC.

Every American should be fighting for change. I urge you to join the fight. Do it for yourself, for your family, and for the future of our country.