It is quiet around here after the busy holidays with family. I enjoy the family gatherings, and I am grateful for the peaceful afterglow. Now we who are frustrated with the government and its neglect of the people whose needs for necessities are ignored, can mobilize and organize actions. We must find a way to move forward. A new year offers the potential to alter past practices.

I know there are people in Congress on both sides of the aisle who will respond to their constituents who make their fears and desires known. It’s easier to let things happen, and it’s more difficult to write or call Washington with suggestions. Midterm elections will put members of the House on the ballot. Prior to that, members are more willing to listen to citizen requests and frustrations. Recent election results suggest that Democrats can be elected in places that were conservative in the past. 

More and more sightings of the president are causing alarm about his deteriorating health. He has problems climbing stairs, staying awake during important meetings, keeping his temper, and appearing in public. He seems to have no filter as he writes on Truth Social or X. Nothing pleases him. He seems  alert when he plays golf, but many are alarmed at the tax money spent on those golf outings. The secret service, travel, housing, and the sport itself are costly. The ballroom replacing the East Wing of the White House is a foolish whimsy that has destroyed an essential part of White House history. It was done without Congressional consultation or approval. Renaming The Kennedy Center has stirred a negative reaction. Acts that were scheduled to appear have been canceled in protest. The institution was created as a tribute to President Kennedy whose devotion to the Arts was recognized and celebrated by its construction. What has transpired is unacceptable.

Where do we go from here? I care about the country of my birth. It provided safety and sensible leadership. Our schools were subsidized and well-run. My education permitted me to go to a good college and to become a teacher. College was affordable. Curriculum was determined by educators. History must be based on reality. Music and the Arts should be recognized as a necessary part of curricula. Math and Sciences became STEM, adding the Arts for STEAM. I feel pride and privilege at the accomplishments of this nation. I desperately want to feel that again.

I took a break from cataloging the outrageous activities of the administration, hoping a miracle would bring a change in direction. Thanksgiving has come and gone with little to be grateful for except maybe that we are not at war, at least not in a major  military sense. Little wars are occurring as Central America seems to annoy the president. Murders occur in the guise of fighting a drug war; innocents are dying.

Meanwhile the president’s health is deteriorating; he falls asleep wherever he happens to be – at cabinet meetings, having lunch in Florida, at public events. It makes one wonder who is making decisions among his incompetent sycophants. None of them seem to know how government in a constitutional democracy should function. Congress is not consulted where the laws require. The shutdown and purging of workforces have left less qualified, untrained workers to try to keep the government functioning. Unemployed, experienced workers have been eliminated from their jobs without cause. The cabinet is made up of incompetent, even dangerous people. 

Former allies are meeting on critical issues, and the U.S. is not officially represented. Our country, formerly an essential partner and leader, is being bypassed and has lost the respect of world leaders. Plans to resume nuclear testing threaten all or us.

I long for a return to sanity, transparency, compassion and the restoration of hope  and faith in the future.

So many needs are not being addressed. Hunger and despair should not be present in a country that has the means to meet and eliminate their causes. 

We must make our voices heard and  join the growing number of Americans who want a restoration of sanity and are committed to working toward that end.

My grievances don’t change; frustrations multiply with very little relief; people are feeling pressures from many sources, many are monetary.

Schools are back in session with one item affecting most of them: cell phones – their presence, usage, necessity in a crisis, use during testing, disadvantages for those who have none or bring none to school. I find myself grateful that phones were not very common when I was teaching. I hear valid arguments for and against their place in the classroom. Most young people have phones. They become a distraction in many situations including traveling to and from school. It’s hard to walk anywhere these days without seeing someone on a phone,  talking or reading or texting. Now to sound like an oldie, so much of our surrounding world is there for our attention, and many times we don’t notice or appreciate it. 

Grocery prices are soaring, some because of tariffs, and some because retailers can get more for their wares. I know that local farm products are affected by a variety of issues. The cost of farming is in some situations prohibitive. Weather is a factor, as is transporting to available markets. I grew up in a farming community, and I attended school with members of farm families. In the fifties and sixties world issues had little noticeable effect on young people. We were aware, peripherally, especially during epidemics, or crisis fears and the resultant safety drills. Mostly our local world was a safe place to grow up. I didn’t know people who owned hand guns. Most families had members who were hunters, but I don’t recall being afraid of random shooters disrupting our lives. It was an innocent time for most of us. 

Do I long for those days? In some respects, yes. I rarely feel safe in unfamiliar situations; we don’t travel as we have in the past. We haven’t gone to the State Fair for several years. We attend concerts, mainly during the day. We attend theater matinees when possible. When we walk outdoors, it is usually in our neighborhood or in safe environments.

I no longer respect the decisions made by government leaders in Washington. We’re seeing a lack of attention to the U.S. Constitution whose safeguards are being defied and ignored. Our once highly regarded and dependable leadership is no longer a part of the larger world”s political landscape. I fear a future of warring nations where U.S. participation is not included or the U.S. becomes a target. Can we survive? What kind of world will our children and grandchildren inherit?

So many formerly thoughtful, caring members of congress seem to have lost their way. There was a time not so long ago when constituents were heard and members of congress recognized the harm being done by the actions of a few thoughtless men. People can’t afford basic necessities, and families are hungry. In this “land of plenty” no one should be faced with rising prices of groceries, rent, fuel, medicines. According to predictions, this is the beginning of a real crisis. When cold weather sets in, all the critical elements will be multiplied by added needs of the population who are already struggling. How have we come to this? 

Because of tariffs, other countries, many of them former allies, are experiencing the same problems. France is in crisis because of financial troubles. Others are there or headed there because they depend on trade with us. The rising prices on exported goods exacerbate the problems. People who see this happening are mostly powerless to do anything to counteract it. We’re in the first year of this nightmare. People in many places in this country are rebelling by making their dissatisfaction heard.

Meanwhile cuts in aid here and abroad are affecting the lives of those who have always been helped. Rural hospitals are closing. Many factory, farm, care facilities and hospitals are short-staffed. Minimum wage earners have been deported at the whims of our leaders. Citizens are arrested and incarcerated or sent to a country they do not know and where they are not welcome. I am frightened.

Most of my life the people in charge were aware, compassionate, looking for solutions to problems anticipated. Members of congress listened and responded with appropriate action. I trusted the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution with wisdom. Lately their decisions have reflected suggestions by the administration, and in opposition to thoughtful interpretations of that sacred document to which they have sworn allegiance. Congress and the Court are to be safeguards. They need to recognize their responsibilities before we are lost.

It saddens me that capable, intelligent, knowledgeable leaders feel it is necessary to resign because their expertise is ignored or denied in favor of nonsense decisions based on unproven ideas about disease and its prevention. I can understand and respect those resignation decisions, but American consumers are left at the mercy of the charlatans who have the final word. We are directly affected by the newest guidelines for Covid inoculations for people over 65. It is once again time for us to get Covid shots, and they may not be available to us. 

We believe in science and the expertise of those whose work on disease prevention has been proven to protect people from the newest variant of the disease that has killed so many in the past. This is just the latest outrage imposed on people who seem to have no choice in the matter.

The Minneapolis shooting yesterday at a Catholic school during the first week of the school year was unnecessary and evilly motivated. If guns were not so available in this country of more guns than people, this might have been prevented. So much about the tragic event is unconscionable. The families involved have been forever altered by the experience.

I know people who are avoiding crowds at the State Fair and at the Renaissance Festival this fall because of Covid and guns. Times have changed in my lifetime. The fair and RenFest have been fall staples for families. We have once again elected to stay at home.

Wonderful memories of the Fair with my family are on my mind this Labor Day weekend. We covered the fairgrounds seeing free concerts, the 4H show and exhibits, and eating too much. It was a rite of passage before school began after Labor Day. It was true when I was growing up, and it remained a pattern for us after we began teaching. I long for the days when I felt safe. Following the news wasn’t something to be avoided or feared because of its nastiness and the helplessness it caused. Once more I grieve.

More and more of the same news each day. And yet I’ve been a news reader for most of my adult life. I try to be selective of my sources. I’m still distressed over the experts who are out of important jobs, leaving us less informed about weather systems and the safety of flying anywhere. Hospitals in rural areas are closing because of staffing shortages leaving the most vulnerable of our people without health care. Crops are languishing in the fields because of a shortage of farm workers, making everything more expensive if it reaches people at all. Medical advances are fewer because of the lack of important funding for research. A more recent piece of news is the manipulation of the Kennedy Center’s offerings. The new chair of the board isn’t by any definition an expert on the performing arts. Having been enchanted by performances there, I worry about its future, as well as its named tribute to a president important to its existence.

We are fortunate to live in a state that is accepting of all and has compassionate leadership, enabling residents to feel secure.  Our neighbors care about one another, our neighborhoods are safe, and our community is nurturing of its green spaces, That was a selling point for us as we sought a home part way between our teaching job locations.That was nearly forty years ago, and we are happy with the decision.  It is important to us to have family nearby, and to have children and grandchildren who are thriving. I’m sad that the political climate is so grim, but the checks and balances built into the constitution have long kept this country in a leadership position in the world. Right now, many foreigners are not happy with the U.S. It’s hard to watch a once compassionate country lose its way, becoming selfish and self-serving. That is not the country people of the world have come to trust, admire, and  depend on for its steadfast support. I can’t accept that we have gone so far away from that reputation. May we support one another in fighting for that ideal. We are better than this.

The president’s trip to Scotland and the reaction of the people there reminds me that we who disapprove of administration activities are not isolated from the world. Europeans are as unhappy with the way things are in the U.S. as many of us are. Most events seem to be spur of the moment ideas that are activated without much thought of consequences. So many billions are spent on whims. We are just 7 months from the beginning of the year. Already countless jobs have been eliminated, departments are left with few if any experts to see to business. So many competent people are unemployed, many with specialized skills that are needed that aren’t being used. Entire departments, once essential to the effectiveness of the government have been shuttered.

I tried to stay away from the news, take a break to focus on things I can control. I spent time on the garden and family. We held a reunion and visited with many relatives we’d not seen for years. It was pleasant and stimulated memories that brought us joy. Long ago the relatives on my father’s side of the family gathered for a week each summer at a resort on Lake Bertha in the Whitefish chain of lakes. We took over the entire resort, and we younger folks were in and out of the cabins as we again became acquainted  with the family. I learned to play bridge that summer, and we had shuffleboard tournaments, attended the summer theater nearby, swam, fished, waterskied; we became close to family we saw once a year. Those memories are special, and for a time as we reminisced, we returned to a carefree feeling of safety and belonging.

What comes next? Can we weather the drama with ourselves intact? Will resistance accomplish anything or will it just roil the waters?  I don’t want our children and grandchildren to be faced with a world that is dramatically altered. I want to see kindness and compassion motivate those who make decisions. Concentration camps like Alligator Alcatraz are not part of a country I love and respect. As many have said, we are a nation of immigrants. Will we survive?

Today I’ve been looking at photo albums and yearbooks. The days of innocence were precious and hopeful. Too many of us have decided that present days will be history soon, and we should sit quietly and ignore what is happening.  Meanwhile recorded history is being revised to avoid the real stories of slavery, the treatment of American Indians, the horrors of war and its effects on families. Many veterans came back changed mentally and physically or didn’t come back at all. Wars enrich the rich, as regular folks face privation and losses. 

I miss the days of my childhood. My greatest joys were swimming, reading, hanging out with friends, riding my bike, roller skating,  playing in the band, going to ball games, and falling in love. I kept a diary, and looking back at it is revealing. I walked through life unafraid and unaware of evil. The government looked after us, kept the people in mind as legislation was considered and passed. There seemed to be more respect and civility among elected officials. Now politicians are consumed with anger, rejecting any ideas posed by the “other” party. People’s needs seem to be ignored. Essential services are decimated. Essential workers whose experience and expertise made sure medicines and workplaces were safe, are eliminated or unfunded and unregulated, as are airlines; in many places groceries are no longer readily available and affordable.

Ideally, police forces would be keeping us safe; hospitals would  be fully staffed; schools would be taking care of all students and their specific needs. Ideally libraries would not be limited to offering only approved books, but would make all books available. This was the country of my youth. 

No one is illegal. Incarceration of immigrants in unhealthy surroundings is cruel and evil. How can life in the U.S. have changed so radically and quickly? What has become of compassion and humanity?  History is already judging us by the reshaping of our place in the world. Once admired and respected, we no longer are. I grieve.

The nightmare continues. I wouldn’t be so angry and frustrated if I just ignored the news. I have always tried to keep up with events because an informed person makes informed decisions. Following my heart leads me to care about people whose voices are rarely heard. In this land of plenty, resources have been tended and protected, clean air and water have been preserved through legislation and diligence. All people have had access to those life necessities.  Forests are threatened, their habitats are necessary for wild life and help the environment by aiding the fight against air pollution and climate change whose storms and extreme temperature fluctuations are life-threatening.

As a child and young adult I took all the life-preserving advantages in this country for granted. I appreciated my life with its expectations, and I wasn’t concerned about how my life was dependent upon the decisions made by politicians. It seemed that those I knew cared about the things I took for granted.

All people must be considered as the bill before Congress is addressed and modified. Clean air and water are necessary to life. Laws protecting them should not be eliminated. Healthcare and education are crucial and should be available to all and protected from political whims.

I want to be proud of my country again. I want to awaken from the nightmare that is now. I want love and compassion, empathy and understanding to return, and hate and destruction disappear. 

Now what? The attack on Iran was the action I’d feared. It seems to have had no real purpose. It was not authorized by Congress as is required by the Constitution. According to news reports, it  didn’t hit strategic targets, it just hit. Today Iran claims to have attacked the American base in Qatar. I’ve seen no news that confirms that, but a military response was expected. I feel so many emotions, anger, fear, frustration…I think about the inevitable collateral damage. Innocent people, structures, children will be directly or indirectly affected by this action and the reaction. The Republican administration is responsible for allowing this unprovoked act of war to occur. Congress has a clear responsibility to be involved in any  military action. For this bombing to happen is unforgivable. 

I grew up at the end of WWII. Family members and friends were involved as participants and survivors. Friends were lost. Families were torn apart. My parents tried to spare us as much as possible, but we were aware of changes in our lives. There were shortages, rationing, increased expenses. We weren’t aware of the ravages of war as it wasn’t on our shores. Because of advanced weapons of war, and the long-distance striking potential of those weapons, the U.S. is vulnerable to the destructions of war here at home. We’re just 6 months into this presidential term, and life could be upended in a moment.

Our children and grandchildren deserve to live in peace. Growing up should be a positive experience. The moments that keep us sane involve good music, being outdoors in pleasant weather, having natural habitats undisturbed by those who would ravage the forests, pollute the waterways, make the air unbreathable with pollutants – all for profit. I pray for us all.