I’m glad that many of our elected officials are—finally—applauding healthcare workers all over the country. And yet, in the same breath, they are rallying against policies that would provide even the most basic protections to our “healthcare heroes.”

Well, John, I’m a nurse. I call B.S.

There’s some experiences you can’t get in Congress. You don’t learn what it’s like to turn patients away because they’re uninsured, or be passed over in the waiting room because you’re on Medicaid. You don’t learn to safely de-escalate patients with mental illness, or do emergency CPR on neighborhood kids assaulted by police during protests. If there were more people like me—nurses, teachers, social workers—in Congress back then, maybe I wouldn’t so often be faced with life or death choices.

I didn’t “come around” to supporting Medicare for All or cancelling student debt. I finished paying my student loan debt off last year. My children almost died during my pregnancy because doctors wouldn’t take my concerns seriously, dismissing me as just another black woman on Medicaid. I have had patients die because of lack of insurance. I know how badly we need the policies I fight for because I have lived through them. That’s why I’ve already been fighting on the frontlines for years, from the clinic to the streets.

And I know that during this pandemic, policies like Medicare for All, a living wage, and universal basic income have become the lifeline that could rescue millions more Americans.

When we face the largest economic recession in centuries, during the deadliest pandemic in decades, and decisions made now will impact our society for years to come—we need true leaders in office.

Politicians aren’t leading us. Nurses are. Doctors are. Teachers are. Activists are. In other words, we are already leading ourselves.

Now all we need is to get to Congress.

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