Reflections on nation
The USA is in big trouble. We no longer have separation of church and state. We no longer recognize rights for women, gender-nonconforming people or children. Apparently we are rapidly devolving into something that is not a democracy, nor a republic, nor anything I recognize as my country. The First Amendment has been swallowed whole by the Second. Children no longer have the right to a safe, public and non-religious education. Or really any education at all. How many people who love children and want to teach also want to be expert murderers in case some idiot wants to shoot them and their children up? You can’t pay teachers enough, and would definitely attract some really sick individuals.
Also, why are we creating so many new (often seemingly imaginary) problems when we have plenty of real and pressing problems to deal with? In just a few minutes my husband and I could come up with a list of 12 actual problems, none of which are being dealt with under current leadership: 1. Racist nonsense is out of control, 2. unfair taxation and extreme wealth are creating extreme poverty, 3. monopolization of almost every industry, 4. stupid lack of gun-control laws, 6. gender-nonconforming people like to think they have rights too, 7. as do most women, 8. we need practical and humane immigration laws, 9. health care (I have the opinion that everyone should have access), 10. climate change (yes, it’s really a “thing”), 11. opioids are still killing lots of people, and 12. homelessness. This should not be.
Instead our so-called leadership is too busy deciding which books to burn, who to “other” next, (there’s always a next, and it may be you!) and how to further the goal of taking all the citizens out of the equation so we don’t have to mess with elections at all.
This is so sad. We had a pretty nice country for a while there. We have always had plenty of flaws, which is truly the condition of all humans, but we were trying to get better all the time. I guess we’ve given up on that. It’s so much easier to destroy than create. I’m so sad.
KAREN J. OWINGS
Little Rock