My college room mate and to this day, a long time friend of mine, once told me I lived in a vacuum because I did not follow news in college. I was too busy studying or had no interest, but realize now, the news was a not a subject I was ever introduced to growing up. Our family did not get a paper. My father worked and my mother raised three children. There were times when news became of interest to us. The end of the Vietnam War, the moon landing, the gas crises. In general; however, our family lived in the moment, worked, played, loved and made a way during our days.
I went back into that proverbially vacuum last March (2018) and have been following my own interests and studies, working, playing and enjoying life. The news was just too childish. It all seemed and still does, like preschool or kindergarten traumas.
The news was constantly filled with he said or she said. Some politician or movie star was involved in a sex scandal or lying about something, blaming others for wrong doings or just blatantly destroying our world with pollution and unconscious behavior. I do not recall if any real issues were being addressed at all, or if they were, like healthcare for all citizens, the issue was stalled in a quagmire of undecided and political lobbying for profit.
I do live in the world and am around other people, and do hear some talking about the news and I overheard that the government was shut down and apparently for three weeks now and that National Parks were not able to deal with the plethora of trash left by park visitors. There was also a comment about stopping the government nutritional food program that provides money for those citizens unable to afford basic food.
My first thought upon hearing about the shutdown was “What government?”
My second thought was maybe I should shut down and not pay any taxes this year. From what I have heard, my taxes are mostly paying for war and pollution and I have no hope in receiving social security payments when I retire.
The comedic reply aside, my mind travels back to find the true cause of this shutdown. It appears to be happening ever year lately and perhaps in response to not getting the best holiday present or because the government is still dealing with coal in their stockings from past years of fighting and bullying in the playground of life. I digress and again, my comedic mind surfaces when I haven’t a clue of the true cause. I am not that informed or interested in politics at all, but am interested in the well being of people. If only help could be brought to the people without a governing body at all. I do not think this is possible; however, the way of nature is to have a leader or guide in some capacity.
And now today January 8, 2019, I hear about Trump’s border wall project and that the United States has gone into more debt since he was in office, to the tune of two trillion more dollars. We are now close two $22,000,000,000,000 in debt and headed toward $25,000,000,000,000 by the end of 2019.
There are certainly a lot of zeros in those numbers and the bar chart appears to have a never ending trend. The government continues to collect money from its citizens and still does not have enough to pay for what they actually need. Our citizens are homeless, hungry and in harms way, many with health issues from their living conditions and old age. Are we not a society that is supposed to care for our elders and ease them into their final days of life, love them and help them as they have helped us?
How will we be able to do this, if we don’t have enough resources for ourselves, buried in debt and trying to carve out a living in coal mine?
Where is the United States we all heard of when people traveled from foreign lands to find a better place to live? Those people who crossed a wall of water under dire conditions to find land and opportunity to start again?
Who are we really to even entertain putting up a wall to people less fortunate than us?
Is there not a symbol of our openness to help other’s still standing today?
There is a horrible disconnect to the values we, the citizens of the United States claim to promote when others are suffering. We must stand up for change and hold the torch to bring people home to a place that lives in our hearts and yet, it is currently covered in a political blanket of disregard for human life and our world.
Here is a link to the real cost of a border wall. The Brookings story is so very telling of the facts and the misguided reasons for entertaining such a structure and exorbitant costs involved with money we don’t even have.
I realize this is not my usual Hallmark sort of post, but a little writing on something that has bothered me since he was elected. I had written a different take on his plan a couple years ago, but had soon realized his path would never accomplish what I proposed.
In All Our Years ™ 