I honestly am confounded by the current trajectory of the federal government of the States. I’m deliberately not calling them United States because this society is so very, very far from united!

This nation began on the eastern seaboard. It was colonized by people who were told that God gave them the right to take whatever they wanted (including life) from “heathens” who were at the time considered to be subhuman. This was called Manifest Destiny, and today this is what our current president believes of himself. He believes that it is God’s will that he should take whatever he needs to “Make America Great Again.”

There is nothing in the Constitution of the Unites States of America that states he cannot do this. Every treaty signed between this country and any indigenous people has been broken. The government only signed treaties to placate others so they could take what they wanted without too much resistance. Winner takes all. True, there have been amendments, but so far it seems, any interpretations of those and laws made afterward, are being thrown out by presidential decree.

I am unbelievably thankful that since my husband passed away a bit over a year ago, I have been able to reconstruct a good life for myself. I have found a soul mate, and we now share this home with a young woman who is an immigrant from Brazil. All of us care for each other, and we are painfully aware that our current government is making decisions every minute that are undermining the security of our lives.

My partner and I are 70 years old. Social Security and Medicare are vital to our ability to pay medical bills and get care when we need it. Our housemate is in graduate school in a Master’s program. The research she is doing for her program is on the psychological impacts on health of LGBTQ people in our society. Will any funding be available for her to continue her studies? Probably not federal funding… We are all wondering what will be withdrawn next.

I’m trying my level best to enjoy the company of friends with whom I feel safe. I wake each morning to the birds singing outside, and I sit to watch the bees go from flower to flower. The beauty of a peaceful life cannot be denied, and that was something I believed was a given. I was wrong. Most people, even in this country, don’t have the kind of life I have. They get up and have to work every day. Most people work very hard and at the end of every day, hope they will still have their job the next day.

I believe that this land mass is far to large and diverse to be governed by a government seat on the eastern side of the country. I believe that as a nation we have way too much to manage under our current system. It was more than 200 years ago that the Constitution was created, and that was when there were only 13 colonies! It is necessary to revise and revisit our governmental system. How that could happen is of monumental importance to every living thing, but truly, I cannot think of where this would even start!

I really do want to begin an earnest dialog of people who want this nation to be a good place to live, and that includes people whose opinions may differ from mine. What we are doing now is NOT making things better. I’m very worried that the country of my birth will fall to ruin soon if things continue as they are going!

Thoughts? Please be civil.

As summer winds down 2025

  Here we are and it is already nearly the end of August! Time flies by when you're busy and happy. My personal life has been so full of joy! 
  Today I read an article in the NY Times about estranged siblings. It got me energized to write again after many months. I will begin with my relationship with my only sibling. She and I were raised in the same household by two loving and consistent parents, yet our world views are quite different. We didn't fight much as kids, and we were mostly friendly as young adults. But after we each married, things changed.
  My sister married a police officer who had been policing in Watts, and he had  very strong opinions about  how dangerous the world is. My sister had not been exposed to this before, and over the years, she became more and more fearful and concerned that "they" were out there ready to target her family because of their ties to law enforcement.
  My sister and her kids were taught to shoot a variety of guns, and they had many in their home in a locked gun case. Her husband was also a gun maker, and had his own wood shop and metal shop so he could make as many as he wanted.
  Their lifestyle and beliefs became a major problem for me. I held onto my more liberal biases. I believed that most people, if they are able to live a comfortable life, will be kind to others. I am aware that life's circumstances are not equal, and some are born into a crazy world of struggling to survive. The fact that so many have been living in segregated areas and have been harassed because of how they look, makes things very complicated. I understand crimes being committed for reasons that make no sense to me, are of course a danger.
In any case, over the years, my only sibling and I drifted very far apart.
  In the last few years, each of us has been dealt some very painful life challenges. Our father died. Our husbands died. Then our mother died. My sister had some serious health scares and was living all alone. The rhetorical wall between us has become softer. We both acknowledge how differently we approach life, but we now both want to have a closer relationship. This fills me with joy! 
  On another front, my two sons cannot spend any time together, and do not communicate. It has been more than 10 years since their estrangement. Siblings sometimes don't really like each other. I certainly understand that. But I never expected that my sons would have to cut off all ties. It built up slowly. Over many years, the younger son felt humiliated, disrespected and physically threatened by his older brother. Once they became adults, they shared some friends and that made things worse.
  The ultimate event that made my younger son back away completely was a heated conversation when most likely both had been drinking too much alcohol. I won't go into details because in truth, the incident itself was the catalyst and not the real cause of their estrangement.
  I tried my best to get them to reconcile, but nothing I could do was any help. I had to stop trying to fix my family, and focus on my own life. But it is fragmented now, and there is nothing I can do to change that. Losing my husband made it more difficult because I was so devastated losing their dad, and alone for the first time in my life!
  Each came through for me, but separately. One lives far from me, so it was understandable that he had to come be with me when he could make the time to fly here. It saddens me that it feels like there is no hope that they will be able to reconcile, but time and life experiences can change things. I may not live to see it, but it might happen.
  I sort of feel the same about this country. There is a huge ideological divide here. It has been the undercurrent since this nation was first invaded by Europeans. The attitude that "White People" ought to rule by their interpretation of Christianity is abhorrent to more than half of our population, yet our governing documents are not worded to protect the country from the kind of power grab that is currently under way.
  I never thought I would see this here, yet it has happened. I can write letters, send money, carry protest signs and everything else, but it doesn't make much difference. I hope that somehow, this country will heal. I hope that the people who live here will reconcile enough to bring back our mostly democratic way of life. But I may not live to see it happen...