People are not numbers on a ledger sheet

As a social worker I have dealt with the micro-end of social policy-the actual delivery end of policies enacted by law and legislation. I often thought of how incredible it must be to be a part of the macro side-those making the policy decisions and how many people's lives I could effect.
Then I started to read numbers One out of every three women in the US will have an abortion by age 45. 13 million children in the US (and rising) live below the poverty line. The price of soda has dropped by 33% while the price of fruits and vegetables have increased by 40%. Insurance premiums were 1.5% of GNP in 1970 but in 2007 was 5.5% of GNP.
These numbers seem pretty cold and have a sense of statistical attachment to them. They don't mean anything they are just numbers. The further away you get from the delivery end of a service the less the impact is felt. The disconnect is there when you see how little a sense of urgency there is by elected officials. There is nothing at stake for them personally so for purely political and regional issues, obstruction becomes how the game is played-but the game leave blood on the hand of politicians and policy makers because of their inaction.

All of these number represent someone. Not one group. Not one religion not one myopic area of the country. Yet we have people like Ben Nelson, Mitch McConnel (the great intellect who once called President Clinton a douche bag), Max Baucus, whose total state populations are less than Brooklyn, making sweeping decisions with utter detachment that is not felt until it hits someone they love. (At least I hope) Working on the policy end is still a dream of mine. I just think its a great idea for those who are enacting policies, spend some time on the front lines-see the consequence of your actions and inactions. Get a senseof the micro first. Talk to the woman in the family planning clinic. Talk to the parent of the diabetic child. Talk to the family of the man jailed for a non violent drug offense. Talk to the family of the person who died for lack of health insurance. Once again to paraphrase something from another era, "ladies and gentlemen have you lost all sense of decency?"