I haven't posted in this blog for a while, but today, my heart is heavy, my head is pounding, and I'm stressed beyond anything healthy, so I feel it may help to collect some thoughts again, and write them down.
This morning, a Facebook friend, and someone I like, but have not really been close to, posted a remark about how having “temper tantrums and meltdowns over an election” is “just a problem in itself”
While I’m not sure to whom or to what incident this person is referring, it caused me to think about what’s going on in my own mind this morning. I’m hoping this will be the catharsis I need to work past this and get myself on a path to my own recovery.
First, I’d like to offer that some of us who are not particularly happy with the election results may be worried about the future of our retirement funds, which are likely going to take a huge hit.
Some of us who enjoy nature and try to be good stewards of the environment are worried that this president-elect is going to make good on his promises to roll back protections of all lands, including federal lands, and open them up to drilling, pipeline placement, etc. This would include rolling back manufacturing standards to allow for further massing pollution of our lands, all in the name of greed for the very rich.
Some of us older citizens may be worried, and rightly so, about our healthcare and the Social Security we worked all our lives toward.
Some of us may be worried about ourselves or our friends, whose lives may be different in some way, but whom we know will likely be further persecuted simply for seeking their own happiness.
Some of us may be looking at our children or grandchildren, and wondering what kind of or how much world will be left for them in the not so distant future.
Some of us may be worried about proposed tariffs on imported goods, which is only going to raise the prices for those of us, some of whom can only afford said imported goods.
Some of us may be concerned that the experts’ opinions about the collapse of our economy, and thus the world’s economy may come to pass very soon.
Some of us probably worry that businesses, schools, municipalities, and other employers may soon be able to completely discriminate against people of color, creed, sexual orientation, and even political affiliation.
I’m sure many of us worry that the current justice system is a joke, and that much of it comes down to which side of the political fence a judge sits on, as to how cases will be tried.
Many of us, I’m quite sure, worry about the future of women’s physical autonomy, and prenatal healthcare, and how the government is poised to control it completely.
Lots of us worry about the large white supremacist element in and under the influence of these newly elected officials.
We should all be worried about the immigrant population, and the integral part they play in our workforce and our economy. Harassing and marginalizing this group is very dangerous.
I'm sure many of us are worried about the promises to pull out of NATO and the UN, as well as
The middle and lower classes should absolutely be concerned that the upper class is living so well off us as workers, consumers, etc., while not paying anywhere near their fair share of taxes. Greed, not money, is indeed the root of all evil.
Many of us, even those of us raised as Christians, are worried that the current christian nationalism is dangerously blasphemous behavior, and that some people have instead begun worshiping a human…a very flawed human.
Some of us, and yes, even those of the Christian faith, recognize that this upcoming administration seems hell-bent on persecuting those of other faiths, despite the teachings they themselves purport to follow.
I think, for me personally, my biggest surprise and regret is that half this country that I’ve lived in and loved most of my life, has indicated that lying, stealing, hating, cheating, hurting, marginalizing, and generally being evil to one’s fellow man, is now normalized, even worshiped.
Some of us fear that American democracy has died, and America will never be ‘great again.’
So, friend, I’m not saying any of this is what caused you to make the remark on Facebook today, but I implore you to step outside yourself for a moment, and to think about what some other folks might be feeling or thinking or worrying about.
So, to summarize what some of us folks are concerned about:
Greed
Bigotry
Racism
Greed
Our livelihoods
Healthcare
Greed
Physical autonomy
Mysogyny
Greed
The economy
Rising prices
Greed
Taxes
Misplaced worship
Greed
Job security
Justice and fairness
Greed
Accountability
Pollution
Greed
Climate change
A future for our children
