Back from the Precipice

Good morning.

That deserves repeating, Good morning!”

We woke up to a world where everything (more or less) makes sense again. We (more or less) trust our fellow Americans not to jump into the mouth of the volcano for at least two more years.

A message has been sent to the GOP that  demographics are changing more quickly than they can gerrymander and suppress.

It is a message that will once more be ignored as the party struggles to make it up to their “investors” who, sadly, are people like the Koch Bros. and their crackpot constituents. The Koch brothers think the country was never more “American” than it was in the era of robber barons; and the crackpots live in a world of their own, that is equal parts Calvinistic revenge fantasy and anti-intellectual reverse snobbery.

So, after billions of dollars have been wasted all around, we are pretty much back where we started from. Not much progress, I’ll grant you; but think what could have been on the menu had things gone just a little bit differently:

. Potentially four Supreme Court justice turn-overs in the next four years, which would undoubtedly lead to…

. Roe vs. Wade overturned; and altogether open season on women’s reproductive rights, even including birth control and wherever else that might lead.

. A lid nailed to the coffin of healthcare reform, emboldening both insurance and drug industries to reach for

even greater profits.

. The end of Medicare and Social Security through “privatization” schemes that would sap them of their resources.

. The end of public education; again through defunding and privatization schemes.

. Further tax-breaks for the wealthy, which, inevitably, would lead to further increases for the vanishing middle class.

. Further raids on workers’ rights, such as collective bargaining.

. More consolidation of wealth and power in the hands of the few.

. Attempts to roll-back LGBT rights and make Christianity the “official” religion.

. A return to bellicose posturing atop the tinder box of Middle East relations.

. De-coupling of military spending from the budget ; then ballooning it to benefit the “military-industrial complex.”

Problems?  Sure, we still got ’em; but look what we narrowly missed.  

So come out of the bomb shelters and dance in the sunshine.  Our cup is half-full this morning.

About Sue Prent

Artist/Writer/Activist living in St. Albans, Vermont with my husband since 1983. I was born in Chicago; moved to Montreal in 1969; lived there and in Berlin, W. Germany until we finally settled in St. Albans.

3 thoughts on “Back from the Precipice

  1. .Gutting Social Services of all kinds.

    .Massive deregulation of every industry, from food to banking to energy.

    .Undermining and dismantling the federal system, piece by piece.

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