Today, June 26, 2008, I spoke with Gerardo Cardenas of the AARP Illinois – Divided We Fail media relations office. I asked him if his employers had any mechanism in place by which individual members could provide input, preferably in person, with the principal people within the AARP - Divided We Fail network. (Cardenas formerly served as Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's Chicago Press Secretary and Hispanic Liaison.)
Initially he kept directing me toward the Divided We Fail web site, and the “Share Your Story” feature. I advised him that that was a nice way for AARP to get people to feel involved, but that I wanted to do something more than tell anecdotes. He also mentioned that AARP – Divided We Fail has both a My Space and a Facebook account. I told him that I was not calling to find a date.
He then said that there were numerous gatherings where individuals could provide input. After repeatedly asking him to give me some examples, he finally gave me two, however, the gatherings he referred to had not had anything to do with Divided We Fail other than Divided We Fail had been “invited to attend”.
Finally, he admitted that there is no way that an AARP - Divided We Fail member can meet “one on one” with an AARP - Divided We Fail employee (policy maker). I told him that a literal “one on one” meeting would be nice, but that I would also be interested in being able to speak with the policy makers via a group of other people, as long as the meeting was limited to AARP - Divided We Fail business. He told me that that was not possible, but refused to tell me why. Then he referred me back to the Divided We Fail web site and the “Share Your Story” feature, after which he then hung up on me.
Note-
I told Mr. Cardenas that I initially had been referred to Ms. Terri Worman, Associate Director, AARP Illinois, but that she had not responded to my voice mail messages or my email. I mentioned that I had searched her name via Google, and learned that her expertise is that of a community organizer for the GLBT community, especially for the senior citizens who are a part of that demographic. Cardenas interpreted my comment as being a personal attack on Worman. I explained to him that I was just repeating the information that praised Worman and that I had read on the Internet, but Cardenas insisted that it was a personal attack.
Next I called AARP's main number again and asked a very nice operator if there were any other offices that I could call to get my questions answered, since I was not having any luck with the Illinois office. She told me that she has been told to direct people only to their state offices, and that she did not have a number for a national office.
That means there are fifty state offices divided up amongst the US. I guess that "Divided We Fail" is an appropriate name for this organization.
According to AARP, "Divided We Fail (www.dividedwefail.org) is a national initiative led by AARP, Business Roundtable, Service Employees International Union and the National Federation of Independent Business, to give a voice to millions of Americans who are tired of letting Washington gridlock stand in the way of affordable, quality health care and long-term financial security. Common sense solutions are needed, and everyone – individuals, businesses and government – has a role and a responsibility in ensuring health and financial security for all."
AARP is the only organization that I am entitled to join.
