Courtesy of Wikipedia.org
I’ve put away my “Stop Trump” sign. No longer must I stand on a street corner protesting the policies of our Republican president. I admit the struggle has been grueling. By the time October’s raindrops fell, my fellow retirees and I had seen our emotions swing like a pendulum between hope and despair. No one saw November’s midterm triumph. For us, Christmas came early.
Even so, we are old enough to know that challenges lie ahead. Question number 1: Do we pick up the shards of our broken democracy or reconfigure it entirely? Whatever direction the country takes, many feel it needs new leadership in the House and Senate. Personally, I favor new brooms. But we can agree that we want an end to backroom deals. Let the selection process be transparent. May those chosen show bold vision and a willingness to right past wrongs.
Justice requires that violent ICE agents and insurrectionists face consequences. Geoffrey Epstein’s victims must have their day in court.
To the list, we should add our intention to protect children. No youngster in America should die of measles. No child living abroad should waste away from hunger while food supplies lie rotting in warehouses. Whatever Elon Musk wanted us to believe, empathy is the country’s strength, not its weakness.
The midterm election gives us hope that we may look to the bright young people headed to Congress to carry out our mission. Let them dedicate themselves to upholding our values and to the goal of leaving no one behind.
Let them also have a care for the planet. The Doomsday Clock, which measures Earth’s habitability for humans, stands at 85 seconds to Midnight.
We have Trump to thank for a precious loss of time. He cut billions from the budget for scientific and medical research. Many were heart-tugging programs like pediatric cancer and dementia research. The Union of Concerned Scientists described Trump’s policies this way: Science, as we knew it, has been upended in the United States. (“Opposition Mounts Against Anti-Science Rule Changes,” Catalyst, Volume 26, Fall 2026, pg. 5).
Fortunately, help is on the way. Several of those headed for Washington, D. C., are scientists, engineers, and medical professionals. The Washington Post labeled their arrival a STEM CELL WAVE. I say that wave should become a deluge. America’s research institutions must be allowed to return to their former world-class standing.
Today, as a philosopher by training, I am full of optimism. May logic, reason, and science reign!
BOYCOTT: Tesla, Apple, Amazon
