I know this sounds overly dramatic but I'd like to tell you why Liberalism and the works accomplished by liberals literally saved my life and more importantly why they've given me one worth living
I want to start by finally telling my story after lurking here for months to learn who, why, and what this site was about, I would like to share my story, to steal a joke from Steve Martin in the movie the Jerk I was Born A Poor Black Child. I'm 47 and the beginning of my life is a story that is still all to common, born to unwed parents my father fled before my birth, my mother later abanonded me to reletives as dysfunctional as they come, I was shuffled from home to home, from my grandparents to my aunts to family friends at times, I was a physically, mentally and sexually abused child, I always thought I was a flawed person because of this, that something was inherently wrong with me and therefore I was deserving of the treatment I received at the hands of others. Eventually to ease the pain I turned to drugs, during these years starting in the early 70's I was introduced to liberal concepts from the older brother of peers who had protested Viet Nam, the lack of womans rights, and a myriad of other isuues, even though I was a high school drop out I was an avid reader, I began an age of enlightment but was still beholding to the drug culture to feel better. Eventually this involvement led to addiction, petty crime, more serious crime and eventually incarceration.
This cycle went on for nearly 12 years, finally I was guided into treatment for my addictions, a liberal concept we all know, from there I was led to therapy, free therapy government funded, thanks to the actions of progressives in the political world who saw the need, finally through another Government funded work training program I obtained the skills to gain entry level employment, it started as a warehouse job for a furniture company, I took advantage of an in house program to train for sales, I began to develop self esteem for the first time, and it was because liberals and progressives filled the need pushed hard for funding for programs like the ones I've mentioned above, It turned out the all the years of hustling for drugs had taught me to read people well and I became an adapt salesmen moving into more challenging jobs and growing in both skill sets and financially.
I eventually went on to become a sales manager that trained sales staffs for company's that employed me and shared my skills, I married, had kids, bought a home (no one else in my family had ever done this they were always renters) at my current job I began hiring from work release programs looking for people like me people who needed someone to hold out a hand and be willing to take the time and the chance to teach them the skills they would need to obtain what I had found. The pride I felt was a far greater reward for me than than the gift I was giving these individuals.
I began speaking for the SAFER foundation in Chicago working with juvenile first offenders in a court deferment plan to help prevent recidivism with these kids who had stories just like mine and some worse.
I say all this to let you know the ideals of Progressive Liberals are what gave me all this, there were times without these taxpayer funded programs I'm sure I wouldn't have found my way out of the hell hole that was my former life. I not only was able, with the help of people just like those here who hold these Ideals, but to actually pay back the debt I owed to all the liberals that came before us who took bold action to help make a society that created programs like these and many more that still help kids like I was to find hope, help, and eventually happiness.
I felt it was important for many too know that while our efforts at times are hard fought when we win we win big, I have not just a life but a way of life, I feel I owe a great debt to the Likes of all you here and those who came before to show the way, and to remind you all to use stories like mine to hold on to when the going gets tough, remember if a kid like me could be saved through the socially progressive work of the leaders of then, others can be saved as we uphold and continue the wrok they began, so thank you, each and every one of you, I have a loving wife of 17 years, three great kids who I know how to raise with values and integrity and most importantly love, and I've succeded beyond what anyone ever thought I would, it's debt I feel sometimes I may never fully repay but thank you nonetheless, I owe it all to you, it is a noble and worthy fight that's fought for the disadvanteged and we can succeed and have succeded and all you have to do is know me, and know my story to know this is true