Free Speech

Free Speech


I haven’t been one for politics until recently. I grew up in a staunchly conservative household and believed what I was told. During the Bush era, I thought Bush was the greatest thing ever. During the Obama era, I thought he would bring about the end of the world. Then I moved states, and with it saw different viewpoints. I was not in a conservative bubble anymore. I didn’t fully lean liberal, but I saw that the views of helping your fellow man which I learned even in the conservative bubble took on a different meaning to those with liberal beliefs. Instead of individuals and communities stepping up and doing the job of helping the homeless, the needy, those who just needed anything, they were too busy being scared living paycheck to paycheck themselves, or worse, afraid for their future; pouring into a retirement fund as much as possible so they could either retire early or make sure they had enough to live on when they retired and/or pass along to their children.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing!!! But the churches used to take care of those in need, or at least that’s what the propaganda I heard from them said. The need has grown, and they can no longer do that, yet the vast majority of them seem to be against government stepping in to help with programs to do what they cannot do. And before you come at me with “these people don’t work, aren’t really disabled, are illegal” or some other excuses, calm down. Unless you have a degree in social work, have worked at an agency or program that actually helps disburse government funds and decides which populations qualify for said funds, I said CALM DOWN!

I had to give DOB, SSN, ID, and medical documentation, just for help finding a job because I am disabled. For other government assistance, you have to know each member of the family’s names, DOBs, (sometimes optional) SSNs (for other members of the household), whether each member is here legally in the US, and a slew of other questions. Applications are 5-10 pages long at least, just for the eligibility application, and that doesn’t include the list of documentation for each individual that you have to bring in to be scanned into the system so we have it on file. Plus any changes have to be registered in a certain amount of days or you’re disqualified. You have to go through the whole process every calendar year or you’re disqualified. Certain programs have a time frame per lifetime that you can use it, then you are finished. All this I learned after a Bachelor’s of Social Work, and doing a couple hours research into each program online. If you’d like to see for yourself, research what type of help you’re looking for and what state. Be sure to click on the state website, and it should lead you to the application which you can either create an online account for their online portal or download and fill out and email, fax, or mail to their office.

So no, illegals are not “benefitting from the system.” If a low-level social worker can tell you that, then anyone can tell you that. You are being misinformed. And they treat it as news. So where are you hearing that information from? For now, we have free speech in this country, though I hear rumors, if not news, saying that more and more media is being sponsored by more and more companies pushing their agendas. So facts may no longer be facts. If you know you are getting some bad information from one source, what other bad information might they be telling you?

I have relied a lot on emotions. I saw yesterday how emotions and ego can affect world policy, and I don’t want that to happen to me. I want to learn how to use it in a positive way. So I will be citing just one website for a Pennsylvania County where you can find resources. This may give you an example of what to look for in your own area, but each one looks different. There are county, state, and federal resources. Unfortunately, a lot of the federal websites I tried looking at yesterday had either moved or been shut down, and that was for early childhood development. Either the new administration has new links which the county website has the wrong links to, or something worse has happened.

What are you going to use your free speech for in this ever-changing climate?


https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Services/Children-and-Families/Education-Resources

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