Troubling Times

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In spite of the dangerous, spiteful and stupid actions by this government, I'm not really affected. My investment account rises daily, I can afford whatever prices show up in the stores where I shop for food and clothing. I'm able to take trips and for now, I'm not worried about money, which is strange because I have always been a bit of a worrier. But I am angry and wish terrible things on the people that are making the lives of so many impossible.

ICE is nothing more than brown shirts revisited upon us from Nazi Germany. Swooping up innocent, loving families and shipping them off to god knows where. Why? Because they can. Because by the time the legal system catches up to them, if it ever does, no one will know where the dispossessed are living, whether they are alive or dead. I've always been proud to be an American, even when Europe painted us as the Ugly American in some book or other. I've forgotten who coined that term.  And yet, I was still proud of my heritage.

Now? Do you know how many people wish they could move to Canada? Australia? Denmark? Anywhere? I'm one of them, but at my age and my current living conditions, I can't. Instead I protest every other Saturday on a nearby hill with my neighbors and friends, hoping to make a statement, praying that the courts will finally step up to stop the absolute devastation of people's lives who have done nothing more than seek a better life for themselves and their children.

That's my history. In the late eighteenth century, my grandparents left Ukraine, a homeland they loved, because the Cossacks from Russia made their lives miserable and dangerous. They lost children in the Pogroms and fled for their lives. I'm more than grateful for their courage. Today, there are 2.4 percent of the total population in the US who are the descendants of those immigrants.  What is the percentage of South Americans (Mexicans, Argentinians, Guatemalans, etc.) seeking refuge in the US? A whole 1.8 percent of the total population. 

Writing this post makes me angry and frustrated. But I will keep writing, protesting and hoping that these horrific times will pass soon and that freedom and sanity will prevail.



Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 1, 2025 at 7:08:00 AM CST

    If you find yourself waking up each day with a renewed sense of dread and shame, you are living in Trump's America. Thanks for this wisdom, Barb, and keep fighting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 1, 2025 at 2:11:00 PM CST

    So good to see you writing again! Love your protesting! Paul and I were out on NO KINGS DAY in Evanston joining the protest. Quite remarkable the large crowd that gathered. Gave me a little hope. See you soon!!

    ReplyDelete

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