1. United States
2. Ala.
3. Letter

Do you believe that Donald Trump is a good person? When you look at and speak to Donald Trump, what about him says “This is a good, moral, ethical person.”? Do you see an empathetic human being that wants to help people? You were elected to represent not only the people who voted for you, but those of us who did not. As fervently as you might believe we are misguided, there are quite a few of disenfranchised, repressed, and marginalized people in your state that have other ideas about the world and humanity and the way forward as a people. We want scientific research in our state. UAB, UAH, Auburn, and many other universities in our state receive funding for performing critical and groundbreaking research. Yet you are part of a party supporting a man who wants to gut health sciences and let easily preventable diseased run rampant and kill Alabamians. We want our state to be healthy, and frankly, having more churches that do not pay taxes or bring any nominal good to us does not improve the health of our state. Expanding medicare would improve the health of our state, but your party insist that providing healthcare is a moral and ethical human wrong. 15 regional medical centers have closed because your party does not want anyone to “get something” from the government. My father, a long time GOP supporter and Trump support, died last week in Nashville’s St. Thomas medical center because he was moved there because all the ICU beds in the state of Alabama were full. The regional medical center he was taken to was swamped. The staff were overwhelmed, depressed, and angry. My father’s care was delayed for hours as he lay dying in the ED before finally being moved to Nashville for observation. How many ICU beds have closed because your party simply thinks people don’t deserve to “get something” they didn’t “work for” by giving their time to companies in our state the fight against unions, better wages, and providing benefits? Are you able to stand up for us or not? Right now it feels like you are simply kowtowing to man that likely see you an object of desire and not as a human being, and I am really wondering how you feel about that. I am wondering how you feel about watching your state continue to go further into decline for men who see you as lesser and secondary. I am wondering how you feel and what you think about the children of this state in the future not being able to have enough healthcare and education to help the state thrive. I really do wonder. Stand up for us. Say the uncomfortable things to your peers that need to be said. Your state has put you there to represent the state, not Donald Trump. He’s not a king, so please do not treat him like one or enable him to be one. Be an American. Be an Alabamian. If you want to shot that rebel yell, do it now for your people, not for man who is happy to watch us die from a lack of healthcare and proper wages. Stand up, Katie Britt. Please. Be better than your peers.