it is not often that i feel hopeless, but right now i do. i know that this feeling will pass, but, as i think of the problems that we face, i see few solutions. fuel and food prices have risen and continue to increase, putting a strain on the finances of many. since democrats are the majority party in the congress and the president is a democrat, our party is blamed for this situation. most americans know in their hearts that economic forces beyond the control of the federal government are the cause of inflation, but, when things are going badly, the party in power takes the hit at the polls. the prospect of a republican majority in the house and senate is frightening, given that party's current state.
trump loyalists are in control of the republican party. they are determined to carry the upcoming mid-term elections at all costs. they continue to promote trump's big lie that president biden won the last presidential election fraudulently. where republicans control state legislatures, they have passed laws that make it easier for them to hold onto power. they have begun enacting state laws allowing them to intimidate voters in democrat-leaning precincts. they have made it more difficult to vote. they have taken control of elections away from impartial officials and given that power to the legislature. under trump's influence, our basic right to govern by the consent of the people is gravely threatened.
those in the republican party who dare to challenge this program of harassment, voter suppression, and intimidation are ostracized and targeted for electoral defeat. only two republicans have been willing to participate in investigating the incidents of january 6 and what went on in the days leading up to it. other republicans have refused to participate and have joined the former president in calling it a "witch hunt." a mentally unstable political novice has won the republican nomination for senator from georgia, a man who has been repeatedly accused of threats against women and who makes claims as outlandish as those of the former president. the court have removed several republican candidates in michigan from the ballot for allowing fake signatures on their petitions to run for office. a celebrity physician who has promoted phony cures for disease has become the republican senate nominee in pennsylvania.
we watch as mass killings are rampant in this country and do nothing about it. we refuse to pass sensible laws that would keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill, violent, and immature persons. we allow weapons whose only purpose is mass killing to be sold with few restrictions. we have citizens walking around armed to the teeth with no laws to prevent this practice. we listen as the gun lobby tells us that "people kill people, not guns," while we continue to tell the survivors of mass shootings and their families that "our thoughts and prayers are with them." what good are those thoughts and prayers without actions that demonstrate our compassion?
our government is poised to take away the right of women to control their own bodies, as male-dominated legislatures pass laws that prevent women and their doctors from making private decisions about women's health issues. as unwanted children are brought into the world, the same people who tell us that abortion is murder refuse to support the care of those children that women are forced to bear against their will or to take the necessary steps to curtail mass murders in schools. we have allowed a right-wing-dominated supreme court to have the final say over reproductive and voting rights in this country to the detriment of democracy.
may those who believe in the ideals on which our country was founded rally to the struggle against the erosion of those ideals. may we stop the movement to adopt laws and practices that will lead to authoritarianism. may we reject trumpsim in favor of tolerance, diversity, and freedom. may we again support the needs of those who have been left behind in our affluent society. may we demonstrate true patriotism by rejecting demagoguery and misogyny and by having compassion for all our people. shalom.
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