I am a twenty-something who for too long has looked at the world as something that is happening to me. Being an intern for John Kerry’s online communications team has given me the opportunity to see that I have been wrong.

I am what is happening to the world. I am a voter. I am informed. I am the next generation that has to deal with the decisions of today’s Congress, Court and President.

Upon this realization, it all became too real for me. It made me angry. I am fed up with the way this government works and with the Roadblock Republicans who actively to keep the country from progress.

This is a recurring feeling that creeps into my stomach every morning when I read the paper. I am so happy to see that the media is catching onto the word “block.” It is rather irritating to read over and again that the Democratic initiatives are “facing tough opposition.”

The most recent news in today’s New York Times is that the GOP will block the Democrats’ stimulus plan. The headlines do not say that there will be tough negotiations. They certainly do not say that, after careful study, the Republicans will bring forth their side of the argument on the issue of stimulating the economy.

What has happened to the Republican members of Congress? They are there to study, to listen and to address the problems of the country, not to enforce power of numbers or cloture as absolute rule for the sake of personal or party gain.

Okay, perhaps the Republicans are going to try to hold onto power for as long as they can. I can understand this, but will not accept it as a valid or virtuous behavior.

The Roadblock Republicans want to get in and get theirs. But when it comes to the economy, just as when it comes to health care for children and education and support for small business, he who loses less is not the winner. Where is the nobility, the integrity that once upon a time came with holding office?

The economy needs this stimulus plan. There must be money flowing on lower socio-economic levels for even the biggest businesses to run and turn a profit. The country is facing a recession. If the Roadblock Republicans in Congress would choose to open their eyes and ears and govern for the best of the country, and not just the best of their backers, there would be a reason for people my age to have greater faith in the political system.

This stimulus plan would help a lot of Americans, and in turn help a lot of businesses, and in both cases help the federal government and the overall economic situation of this country. For the Republicans to roadblock everything is in itself a sign of weakness and lack of intellectual prowess. For the Republicans to roadblock everything with so much at stake is selfish and cruel to many Americans.

This country is not going to endure the power plays of the Roadblock Republicans for long. We have elections coming up, and the youth who are inheriting America are moving and shaking and talking and voting—Republicans and Democrats alike.

It’s time to start negotiating, start accepting and start working toward a better future that allows the younger generation a chance of real success. Leaving the elderly, the veterans, and the struggling poor and their children without heat in the winter is not the way to unite the country and it is not what the next generation will stand for.