Below the picture is my response to Stephanie Land’s post, It’s Clear: They Hate Poor People, her personal, astute take on how this Big Bad Bill will crush more lives than we can imagine. In her post, Stephanie, author of Maid, and mother, shared her understandable response to the November election:
When they announced the election results, I woke up at 3am in a panic. At first I thought it was for an unknown reason, and realized why when I heard my phone buzzing from text messages. My friends were panicking, too. We all had different reasons to be awake at that hour, our hearts racing. Some of us had daughters, battled chronic illness, lived in large cities, and worried about aging parents. All of us were terrified.
My comments:
Each of the mothers who comprise The Three Melissas barely hover over their prior homelessness, now with their children a decade or more older, some with beloved grandchildren. None are safely removed from the ravages of homelessness and abject poverty. So our nation’s continued shift toward fascism presents a clear and present danger to them along with the millions of vulnerable children and adults across our beleaguered country.
Those of us who care for [and about] others feel the anguish of yesterday’s sadly predictable vote to slash the shreds of assistance that keep folks alive. This is and will be horrific in too many ways to describe. It’s meant to, among other things, demoralize us all, those immediately impacted by the cuts and those of us who work for justice and relief from poverty. But…
…we can’t give up. We need to figure ways to both bolster those who need help surviving the hand dealt them and to push our nation toward the ideals we’ve yet to achieve—liberty and justice for all. Undoubtedly, we need to devise stronger strategies and more compassionate responses. DDN
Perhaps this ugly bill will shake those of us currently complacent to do more and better. It calls for We the People to extend our hands to those struggling to survive, those caring for loved ones young and old. We thought we were doing our best. We need to do even better.
And for all who are able, it’s time to get even more involved with efforts to restore our nation’s commitment to the yet-to-be-reached ideal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Local advocacy efforts have sprouted in response to the tyranny festering in our federal and state governments. (Check out www.indivisible.org for one source.)
Giving up is not an option. It sure is tempting. But no. We will fight with all our might, because love wins.
