An Open Letter to Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity

Dear Mr. Beck and Mr. Hannity,

Let me start by saying “Thank You!” for being the great Americans that you are. You are getting the word out about all of the horrible and truly un-Constitutional things that this current administration and our Congress are doing to We The People. You have been instrumental in exposing the corruption in our government and the questionable character of the people our current President has surrounded himself with. I think you two have spearheaded some very profound pro-liberty initiatives that have made a difference in waking us up and getting us mobilized in the important cause of freedom.

Glenn: Your 9.12 Project is probably one of the single biggest reasons why many of us have finally woken up and have started pounding on the doors of our representation, filling up their email in-boxes by writing them letters, burning up their phone lines by calling them, and adamantly opposing these enormous and destructive health care, cap & trade, and other bills. Not that they are listening to us. Like many in the 9.12 Project and the Tea Parties, I have never done this kind of thing before – but I’m doing it now! My wife and I have both been heavily involved in our local 9.12 group – and we are so thankful, because we have met so many new and wonderful friends who feel just as we do; we are all fed-up, tired, and outraged by government shenanigans. My wife and I have your books and have embraced your common sense way of explaining what is “really” going on in our country. Arguing with idiots is no longer a challenge – we have been armed with some good information.

Sean: Your Freedom Concerts are just one example of how you are making a huge, positive difference in the lives of those who serve our country. Your great, great, great American Panel has been instrumental in illustrating the ranting of liberal, misinformed progressives who only want to destroy our country. I listen to you on our local Fox radio affiliate every day on the way home from work. You have given me many ideas for my blog articles and activities. Your logic has given me so much fuel for my arguments against those who just don’t get it.

Now for the hard part: I am a federal employee, which is primarily why I am writing this letter to you guys. It seems that recently, you have been making statements on your shows alluding to the notion that ALL of us in the federal government are over-paid tax cheats. I will not deny that there are certainly those in the federal government who are guilty of those things – and probably worse! But I have to be honest: In recent weeks, I have listened to your radio programs and watched your shows on Fox (as I always do) and I have come away feeling very hurt sometimes.

To give you a sense of why blanket statements painting ALL federal employees as over-paid tax cheats hurts me so deeply, let me tell you a little about myself and the people I work with in my particular agency:

• After serving a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy, I went on to become a teacher in the State of South Dakota – the state that ranks dead last in teacher pay, then accepted a job back in my home state of Colorado in a federal agency. I did so because I saw this as another opportunity to serve my country. My entire life, I have known nothing but service to others, as evidenced by my employment choices over the past 33 years.

• I believe in small government, waaaay smaller government spending, free enterprise, and the U.S. Constitution. I believe deeply in every single one the 9 principles and 12 values on which the 9.12 Project is based. My wife and I believe in God, and he is the center of our lives (sound familiar?). My spouse and I believe that America is great, that the American people are the true source of innovation in this country, and that the government does NOT create wealth, provide jobs, or has any business doing the things they are doing to us right now.

• As a federal employee, I took the same oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States that I did when I served in the military. This is an oath I have never taken lightly. Even when I left the military, and before entering federal service, I continued to believe that my obligation to that oath never expired.

• I carry around a copy of the U.S. Constitution in my back pocket. My worn, torn, and faded copy is a testament to how many times I have taken it out to look something up or to explain to someone why I think something this current administration is doing is unconstitutional. I have even been ridiculed for carrying it around, but I stand firm in my resolve to stand by that sacred document.

• On one hand, my President refers to me as a “bitter clinger” who clings to my Bible and my guns, and a ”tea bagger” for my participation in tea parties. Our Secretary of Homeland Security calls me a terrorist because I am former military, a gun owner, and a tea party participant. Then the House Speaker calls me a “tea bagger” and “astro-turf” because of my participation in the same. But on the other hand, I am an over-paid, tax cheat in the minds of the very people whom I support simply because I am a federal employee.

• There are many (many, many…) of my co-workers who come to work every day, do their best, and openly speak their mind about their feelings against an administration that is out of control. These people do everything in their power to spend tax payer money wisely, and we speak up when we see waste.

• My agency employs veterinarians, biologists, and scientists of all types, all of whom could probably be earning more money in private practice. But they chose their current federal employment, in many cases, because they felt called to a higher purpose of servicing our country.

• The employees in my building participate in annual charity drives, help out in our local schools, and give our time and talents to non-profit organizations that help others. Our current “boss” didn’t mandate that we do those things. We have been doing them since long before the anointed one came along, and will continue to do them long after he and his freedom-hating Congress has been booted out of office.

Sirs: I would think that rather than painting all of us who are federal employees as over-paid tax cheats, that maybe you would look for the good inside the walls of our federal government wherever you can find it, and do your best to illustrate instances of good employees who do the right thing. After all, we even have people in Congress who are true patriots, and are fighting from within to further the cause of liberty. Michele Bachman, Dr. Ron Paul, John Thune, John Boehner, and many others are on the inside, and are indeed on our side. Believe it or not, there are great numbers of federal employees who are on our side as well. The American people, I would hope, should thank the Lord that there are indeed people on the inside of our government who do the right thing, actively campaign against an out of control administration, and are active members of Tea Parties and 9.12 projects to bring about the true change that we need in 2010 and beyond.

All I am saying is that I just want, for myself, my coworkers, and my fellow patriots who are on the inside, a little consideration for the fact that many of us do the right thing, we are adamantly passionate about the values and principles that our forefathers used to found this great country, we oppose the current administration’s tactics, and we know full well that by doing so our very jobs could be in danger. And unless your listeners hear different, we will be in physical danger from the over-zealous (yes – the over-zealous are part of BOTH sides) who hang on your every word, and decide to take matters into their own hands and get revenge on more of us. I think back and tremble at a story from the not so distantly past news where a federal employee was attacked and killed. The word “FED” was written across his chest. I would hate to think that blanket statements about federal employees all being bad people was responsible for this type of brutality. Instead, I would prefer that all of our fellow Americans know the truth: That there are good patriots among the ranks of federal employees, and we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in private life in their fight for liberty and freedom.

I will continue to support you guys, listen to your radio programs, and watch your shows on Fox. I and my wife patronize your sponsors, and will continue to do so. My spouse and I will continue to be actively involved in our 9.12 Project and the tea parties. Please don’t hate all federal employees, and please even maybe make some mention of the fact that there are indeed those on the “inside” of the federal government who are good people and will continue to fight for the causes of liberty and freedom.

Thank you for listening to this regular guy who, like Glenn, just loves his country and fears for it. God bless you both for getting the word out and waking us up. I pray for you and thank God for you every day. Just as you have done, I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor to the fight for liberty and freedom.