Feelings of Dread
Admittedly, I haven't felt 'normal' lately. There are a ton of reasons that feed into that, but that's material for a whole other post. Today, I've been thinking about a conversation I had with one of my brothers a few weeks ago. We were having a general conversation about current events and the lackluster choice of voting for two old white men or a middle-aged white man who evidently claims to have a worm in his brain for president. My brother said that maybe he just won't vote. I said I didn't think that was the right answer...but I let it go.
But I can't.
It's been weighing on me ever since. I couldn't agree more that the three likely candidates for president do not excite me either; however, there is so much at stake for our country. As I thought about it, my 67-year old white brother--retired but working a part-time job to keep busy--really won't suffer any dramatically negative consequences regardless of who becomes president. He's in relatively good health, his house is paid for, he and his wife have (I assume) a modest amount of retirement savings, their children are all grown and healthy and have productive lives. So, the outcome of the election one way or the other won't have lasting effects for him.
I see the awful impacts that could happen with a second Trump term. Again, not to me as a middle-aged white woman who is past childbearing years, with a decent income, and modest savings. But, my God, I fear for so many other that I deeply care about.
Project 2025 outlines a future for our country that is straight out of The Handmaids Tale. I recall a conversation I had with a former colleague (a Republican but not a Trump fan) a couple of years ago when I was lamenting how I crushed I felt when Trump received more electoral votes than Hillary and became the President. He said, "I am sure it is hard to process that our country is more misogynist than racist. Until that moment, I had never thought about it. White privileged me assumed that women had finally achieved equal status to men. That was a hard truth that took me a while to absorb. (Actually, I'm still absorbing it.)
But, I digress...
What I fear most about a second Trump term:
- The continued erosion of a woman's right to choose and autonomy over her own body, along with the potential for criminal actions for medical professionals who care for women in what are deeply personal situations. I have nieces and grand nieces, and I fear for the limited choices they may face in the future with their healthcare decisions.
- The continued erosion of the judicial branch and the seemingly unethical or questionable standards that some of our judges on the Supreme Court are exhibiting. Justices seem all too willing to curry favors for the mega rich benefactors or friends for political gains. This extends far beyond the Supreme Court to judges at every level who favor this ultra conservative and christian dogma that ultimately rules in favor of white people and gives the harshest of penalties to the most vulnerable populations.
- The removal of all protections for diversity, equity, and inclusion that extend to women, all people of color, LGBTQ+ groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals who speak English as a second language. I am lucky to call people from all these groups friends. I know they are scared. So scared that some have already left the U.S. permanently.
- The broad characterization of immigrants as "bad people" and the goal to deport tens of millions of immigrants...even those who are here legally. Again, I know and care very much for many immigrants who are lovely contributing members of our society. I don't think many people in the U.S. understand the economic devastation to the agricultural, construction, and tourism industries if all immigrants are suddenly rounded up and deported. The immigrants are not taking "black jobs" or taking jobs from white Americans. No, the hardworking immigrants are doing the manual, tedious, shitty work that most people in this country are not willing to do.
- The plans to politicize the federal civil workforce and to eliminate certain federal agencies. This will have devastating effects on many agencies that millions and millions of Americans rely on: Medicare, Social Security, student financial aid, transportation, agriculture. I currently work for a government contractor and my counterparts at the federal agency we serve are extremely nervous for the future and consequences of this action.
- The potential plan to reinstate the draft, and more importantly, to REQUIRE graduates from public high schools to take a military exam while graduates from private schools are exempt. Who is this going to impact? We all know the answer to this....the most affected students under this requirement will be students of color and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The preppy white kids from private schools will get a free pass.
- The removal of environmental protections. We're past the point of denying that climate change is happening, right? The extreme heat, the more severe weather, the melting of the polar ice cap, the plastic garbage islands floating in our oceans. We are straight up killing our beautiful planet and rolling back the meager protections that are in place will further exacerbate the issue. Go to any other developed country -- Australia, Scotland, England, Ireland -- the U.S. lags FAR behind them in sustainability.
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