At the July 4 Tea (Taxed Enough Already) Party in Morehead City, 14-year-old Michael Russell spoke out against congressional Democrats’ health care proposals, expressing concern that Americans with extraordinary medical needs might be denied treatment under the Democrats’ plan.
Born with only half a heart, Michael had a special reason for getting involved in the Tea Party movement.
Michael’s mother, Denice Winn Russell, said that Mick (Michael’s nickname) was born with five rare heart defects. He had four open-heart surgeries that made him pacemaker-dependent until he finally received a heart transplant at age 6.
“When Mick realized that health care reform could affect him and others like him because people wouldn’t get the operations or drugs they needed, Mick decided to speak out,” Denice said. “He could articulate in a way that other people wanted to hear what he had to say.”
Michael worried that a government-run system, like those in Canada and Great Britain, meant bureaucrats might decide that someone like him couldn’t have a transplant because of the cost of the surgery and the expensive anti-rejection drugs that the recipient must take for the rest of his or her life.
“The wife of one of my college instructors had breast cancer and her doctor had moved here from Canada because he couldn’t practice oncology like he wanted to in Canada,” Denice said, “and Mick knew this.”
Michael’s fears may well be realized if the health care bill passed by the House earlier this month or a similar version passes the Senate.
Catherine Midgett, a 14-year-old freshman at Gramercy Christian School in Newport, attended the July 4 rally and was very impressed with Michael and his passion for getting other teens involved. She and Michael began discussing what they could do to encourage other teens to care about issues in the world around them and make a difference. Among their ideas was to hold a teen rally.
Sadly, Michael never got to see his dream realized. Shortly after the July 4 Tea Party, he became ill and died on Oct. 6.
Legacy endures
Determined to carry on Michael’s legacy, Catherine solicited help from the Morehead City Tea Party Patriots in planning a rally and voter registration drive held on Nov. 7 in Newport. “I got permission from Michael’s family to dedicate the rally in Michael’s name,” Catherine said in a phone interview with CJ. She named the group “Michael’s Dream: Youth Saying No to Big Government.”
“We only had three weeks to plan the rally,” Catherine said. “We posted information on Facebook and distributed flyers to high schools and other places to reach as many teens as possible. At the rally, we sold Tea Party Patriots t-shirts and bracelets to benefit the Wounded Warriors Foundation.”
The group wants to branch off from the local Tea Party movement and take Michael’s Dream nationwide, perhaps even start a foundation.
Asked about three or four issues that concern teens, Catherine replied, “it’s almost scary because young people can’t name one or two issues, let alone three or four. Youth always think they’ll work less than their parents and get more, but that’s not true.”
“Michael and I wanted young people our age to understand about big government. There’s so much money being spent and teens need to know how this will affect them,” Catherine said.
Social networking is very important in swaying the opinion of today’s youth. “Before last year’s election, I constantly had people asking me to become an Obama ‘fan’ [referring to Facebook],” Catherine said. “It’s sad that many young people are only impressed by the ‘coolness’ factor. Young people think Obama is so cool because he knows how to use Facebook and cool technology.”
Catherine stressed the importance of young people understanding the meaning behind the words and hype. “Our group isn’t about Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. Young people need to check more than one source for news and information. They need to hear different perspectives and then decide what’s true or right.”
“When we get a chance to talk to adults, we tell them to talk to their children and grandchildren. Involve them in politics. Listen to them, ask questions, value their opinions, and educate them about government,” urged Catherine.
“Today, kids from teens to age 25 hang out together. Young people don’t like to go to a rally and just hear adults talk. They text message and chat on Facebook and Twitter. They like things to be entertaining.”
Before they met at the July 4 rally, both Catherine and Michael had attended other Tea Parties with their parents and grandparents. Their families had always discussed current events, history, and politics with them.
Michael’s mother had always taken Michael with her when she voted. “We’d always talked about politics. I wanted him to be prepared,” Denice said. “Michael said it [his decision to spread the word] had to do with freedom and making a choice. The money being spent means no future for young people and they need to know that. Michael was the most caring, loving, loyal person. He was my hero and my best friend. His friends said Mick was a confidante and a protector.”
In a phone interview with CJ, Michael’s grandfather, Don Winn, said Michael had been praying for someone to help him get out the message to other teens. “Mick was so happy to meet Catherine. They were planning events. Now, Catherine and others are continuing his dream.”
Those wanting to learn more or get involved with Michael’s Dream can e-mail the group at [email protected] and ask to be added to the mailing list. The group doesn’t have a Web site yet, but Catherine said they are hoping to set one up soon.
Karen McMahan is a contributor to Carolina Journal.