New Month

Imagine that! The eighth month of the ‘new year’. Time marches on. It just does, with us or without us. Progress or the opposite! Some of that intentional, some not. Even the ‘not progress’ is intentional, some not. It’s the intentional that bothers me the most. The ‘not progress' bit.

I know ideological differences exist, but when dismantling something hurts millions of people, how can this be allowed to happen? Before such government programs existed to help the poor and sick, private charity was expected to fill the gaps. It didn’t. So much it didn’t, that society as a whole was hurt by the suffering and degradation of fellow Americans. Hospitals were inundated by people who needed care but could not pay their bills. Courts were filled with lawsuits attempting to collect the unpaid bills. Insurance companies caught up to some of this, but employers had to ante up the premium dollars as worker benefits to make up some of the difference. The unemployed, of course, were not helped, nor the hospitals and the unpaid invoices.

Eventually government programs were created to help. Unemployment programs softened the blows to the economy. Productivity improved. Healthcare expanded. Society’s medical care provided benefits to the economy. Soon the economy was working better and that itself helped pay the social cost of the new programs. Things eventually got better in spite of conservatives declaring socialism at every turn.

Government caring for its people is its job. That is a baseline that appears to be in dispute always. But the opposite position is an erosion of the wellbeing of the nation itself. How can we allow that to happen?

Indeed! Isn’t that what is happening today? The erosion of our nation’s health, wealth and wellbeing?

We need to do something about this. People are already moving forward. Rumbles have been happening, the media is responding to this somewhat, and that pulls them away from the trump agenda. We are talking at coffee breaks, meals with friends and family, we are seeking others with similar opinions and finding that easier to do than earlier. Writers are posting their blogs, newspaper columns and books and magazine articles. Writers are also producing scripts for TV shows, movies and all sorts of spoken happenings on TV. And radio.

Those of us in artsy activity have not been silenced. We continue to produce material that the rest of society can use to speak to truth. And facedown tyrants, hooligans and elected reps who are not speaking for their constituents.

Lend your voice and physical presence to all of this. Get involved and invest in our repaired future.

A new month is a great time to do this.

August 1, 2025

 

 

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