My name is Sidney Carton, and I am a member of the 99%

by Sidney Carton

My name is Sidney Carton.

I am a Library Assistant with the University of California.

I have worked without a contract for the past three years.

When upper level UC administrators were getting raises for “taking on the responsibilities of 2 or 3 administrators” I got a 4% pay cut to help cover our budget cuts.

I have worked full-time while holding down at least 6 (and often as much as 14) credits a quarter/semester, since 2006.

Due to the ever-rising costs of higher education, I currently carry enough student debt to buy two new cars.

The newest vehicle I own is 11 years old, and has over 180,000 miles on it.

If I’m lucky, I might afford to put a down payment on a home by the time I’m 40.

Were it not for “Obamacare” my wife would, due to pre-existing conditions, not be able to get health coverage on her own.

I have two children, pay my taxes, obey the laws and do my bit for the country that my forefathers bled to defend.

I don’t want the wealth of others, their money doesn’t interest me, their houses are too big and their stuff is ultimately just stuff.  All I want is a fair shake, for my voice and my vote to matter as much in the halls of my so-called “representatives” as the millionaires and billionaires whose interests they currently defend.

I’m not a Marxist, Socialist, Communist, Fascist, or any other kind of -ist, thank you very much.  (If anything, my current political position is cynicism.)  But I’ve read enough history to know that when the privileged few reap obscene benefit from the misery of the many while turning a deaf ear to their cries, catastrophe results, and everyone ultimately suffers.  What you are hearing from Zuccotti Park, from the streets of every major American city, and from the multitude of digital soap boxes across the internet are those very cries.  They are harbingers of troubles to come.

As a father and husband, who sees the fate of those I hold most dear caught up in an uncertain future, I urge those who stand in the positions to shape policy at this time, to give heed, and not merely lip service to these cries and to act accordingly.  For just a moment, lay aside the campaign rhetoric and bickering and do what we have sent you to our various capitals to do:  Govern this land.  If you will not do this, then you will answer for the neglect of your collective stewardship, and history will hold you responsible for our nation’s unhappy fate.

My name is Sidney Carton and I am a part of the 99%.  Join us and we will move forward together.