A group of Santa Clarans are letting Washington know exactly what they think of the series of federal budget cuts.
A group of roughly 10 local residents have opted to join a national postcard writing campaign decrying President Donald Trump’s campaign to slash government costs. The grassroots effort aims to inundate the White House with a critical mass of postcards as a form of protest.
Each of the writers made their thoughts known, writing between 25 and 30 postcards apiece.
One of them, Susan Silver, said she heard about the campaign from a friend in Seattle. She decided to get involved because of frustration at the prospect of “losing democracy.” As an educator, the cuts to education really stuck in her craw.
The county seems to “lack a sense of efficacy,” she said.
Her main message to Trump was that he is failing to protect and defend the Constitution. She called the widespread cuts — including education, entitlement programs, medical research and national parks — “intolerable.”
“Most of us feel that there is nothing we can do, so we can go back to civil disobedience,” Silver said. “We are trying to get our feelings out there … we are trying to do something that is within our power to do.”
Although she is highly skeptical Trump will read any of the postcards, she said she hopes other elected leaders will notice the tide swell of opposition and act. The way things are going, she said, the country is headed for a “crash-and-burn” situation.
Silver got Janine Chew involved in the effort.
Cuts to Medicaid worry her, Chew said. She echoed Silver’s sentiments, saying she felt “helpless” and needed to do something.
“The price of nursing homes are astronomical, and [senior citizens] cannot pay for that out-of-pocket. They rely on Medicaid,” Chew said. “I don’t want to see our seniors in tents on the streets. It is wrong.”
Although she tried to have her writings hit on as many topics as possible — from tariffs to executive orders — Chew said the refugee freeze is another topic that troubles her.
While these topics may be federal issues, Chew said they have a trickle-down effect that will affect residents locally. She hopes the campaign will motivate others to “get off the couch.”
“If we don’t raise our voices, our voices won’t be heard,” she said.
Norene Hendricks, another postcard writer, said she is “flabbergasted” that there is “no leadership working as an opposing force to Trump.”
As a Parkinson’s sufferer, Hendricks saw cuts to medical research particularly egregious.
“It is hard for me to stand by and watch this and do nothing,” Hendricks said. “I’ve tried to plan for the future, but I have also taken into consideration what the government, the federal government, has promised my parents, my grandparents.”
Both Hendricks and Chew said the post office was sold out of postage when they tried to purchase it for their postcards.
Hendricks said that gave her hope somebody might actually tally how many postcards are pouring into Washington.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
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