It’s increasingly hard to read the news and to pay attention to what is happening here in the United States under the Trump presidency.
I’m torn between not reading and bearing witness to what is being done in our names. I know I’m not alone.
I was talking to a friend whose health care subsidy has disappeared and his insurance now costs $4,000 a month. He has a pre-existing condition and can’t go commando and risk being without insurance. We were talking about how town of Warren employees have the most deluxe and amazing health care plan ever with zero costs other than a small portion of monthly premium.
And we were talking about the health care plans that educators and other municipal employees get. He said he wasn’t going to throw any of the people with good health care under the bus for having what we all deserve – namely high-quality affordable health care.
And I left that conversation seriously depressed because between health care and Venezuela and the murder of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis (and the federal government lying about it and spinning it) plus Iran and Greenland, ICE invasions in American cities and, and, and . . . my value system and my morality are so constantly abnegated.
I shared this via early morning texts with friend from Vermont who no longer lives in the United States. He said he finds solace in greeting the people in his new Caribbean home each morning on his walks. He takes comfort in greeting his neighbors every day.
“Sure, the exercise is wonderful but the positive connection with people lifts me out of my disturbing news funk,” he texted.
Then I thought about how quickly after Renee Good’s death I received notice that local folks were protesting early Saturday morning when the roads resembled ice-skating rinks. I thought of the pics they sent and the looks on their faces and I realized I too am taking solace in my neighbors and they are affirming my morality and my value system.
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