The Politics of Disrespect.
Photo from Senate HELP Hearing on July 9, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
When I found out that the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” officially passed the House and was now on its way to be signed by President Trump, tears welled in my eyes at the Maman coffee shop in Chinatown, Washington, D.C. I knew our country had changed forever. Don’t get me wrong, it was already transforming into an autocracy - pretend-ICE agents detaining, deporting, and terrorizing innocent people of color without due process. The signing of executive orders threatening to take away Visas from international students, defund life-saving research, strip millions of federal workers of their jobs, accelerate the harmful effects of climate change. It is a never-ending list of grief for our country.
The bill was signed on July 4th, 2025 - Independence Day. I chose not to watch the fireworks. There was no independence to celebrate that day because working-class, low-income Americans are tied by the shackles of a government that only cares about the wealthy. There was nothing to celebrate. Mark my words when I say that our country is breaking apart. As I watched people celebrate the fireworks with so much happiness, I could only imagine the health insurance premiums that will skyrocket for my family, my father already struggling to pay bills as he works three jobs. My parents already delaying their care for health emergencies because the “land of the free” reserves healthcare for the rich. I imagine the 300+ rural hospitals that will close. The 17 million Americans that will lose healthcare coverage. The kids that will starve without their SNAP benefits. The 50,000 unnecessary deaths that will take place annually. The loss of innocent American life is all I saw in those fireworks that I viewed from my dorm window. It pained me.
It also awakened me. It made me realize that to be silent is to side with the oppressors. Silence will lead to the death of our country. It is time for Americans to wake up. My friends, my peers, my communities must all wake up. We cannot give up on the country we love. The country our parents made sacrifices to raise us in. The country that has given us so much. I have realized that America is my home — and I will stand my ground.
Today, I attended a Congressional hearing by the Senate HELP committee. The hearing was titled “Securing the Future of Health Care: Enhancing Cybersecurity and Protecting Americans’ Privacy.” After Chairman Cassidy gave his opening remarks, Ranking Member Bernie Sanders spoke about the true issue facing Americans. “This bill is a death sentence,” he said loudly, his fear for our country truly reverberating in the Dirksen Senate Office Building hearing room. Cassidy clapped back after saying “____,”, and Sanders interjected “It is about the healthcare of Americans!” Expert witnesses spoke about the issues of cybersecurity attacks increasing costs, putting hospitals at risk of closure, and leaving sensitive patient vulnerable. But those on the right side of history knew what the real underlying threat was. As Senator Hickenlooper of Colorado reminded us, it is interesting that we need more funding when the government recently passed a bill providing less.
As Sanders explained the travesty of this bill, placing a special emphasis on rural hospitals being placed as they also severely lack cybersecurity infrastructure and experts, Chairman Cassidy showed complete disrespect. When Sanders spoke about 23% of nursing homes being projected to close, Cassidy immediately boasted how the bill didn’t include that. And right as Sanders was going to say something in response to that remark, Cassidy began banging the gavel aggressively, loudly stating “I am the chair, Bernie (something like this.” I felt shocked seeing that display firsthand.
If we cannot maturely work together across our differences, or even just hold a hearing without rudely slamming a gavel, then our country just bleeds more and more. I wonder how the divide and disrespect keeps getting stronger. Trump’s influence. Being bought by corporate and foreign lobbyist groups, like Israel’s AIPAC. Or is it simply just that lawmakers truly having no empathy for the constituents they were elected by to represent them?
I see the country that raised me bleeding. America is the country my parents chose to raise a family. They left everything behind in Pakistan to grant me opportunities they never had the privilege of chasing. I lived in New York City for my first 10 years, falling in love with the snowfall and skyscrapers of Manhattan. Plano, Texas, where my family currently resides, is where I met my best friends during high school. I go to college at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘Em!), the place where I truly found my purpose. Late nights working at the Texas State Capitol during session, a 5 minute bus ride from my campus, was where I fell in love with politics. I worked for Rep. Suleman Lalani, a geriatric physician who represents part of Houston, taught me how serving your community is the heart of being a good politician. Staying grounded in your values as you fight for the diverse needs of your constituents, never backing down no matter how hard the fight gets, is something I want to commit my life to.
The fight for a just American political system is a long one, but I still believe in optimism. Hope. To lose hope is to give up on this country, and I refuse to do that.