Fear in the Masses

 What are we supposed to think about our new government.

One day I think I'm going to be living under a bridge soon.   The next I think it'll be ok.

Fear exploitation from one side and from the other, lies, misdirects, blame gaming, media silence and massive cuts and firings to virtually every federal program out there.

Our country is nothing like what it was just a couple of months ago.

We're now the bad guys, in the view of many countries who once were our friends.

Yes, America has been exploited, for its wealth, for its willingness to help other countries, in trade imbalance.  Sure, there is waste in government ways.  I agree completely with removing waste, going after fraud, and making the government work without bloat.  We all see the poverty caused here with cities and counties adding fees to every aspect of our lives.  We don't talk about the root problem in Oregon like we should and that's our overly ridiculously generous public employee retirement plan that has been sinking our ship for decades. 

I have no real idea of the scale of what is going on.   

I can't even list the many things that have ended.  It's a daily barrage.  I don't keep track.  

I know some because they affect me--like the 2 million pounds of food the Oregon food bank will not get because that's been cut.  Like NPB's funding about to be cut, which was inevitable under Trump.    National Public Broadcasting distributes funds to local public broadcasting like OPB in Oregon.  Public broadcasting creates news casts from around the world and interesting series about life around the world and also TV series, that are fantastic (some of them).  Do enough Americans watch and listen to public broadcasting to justify the taxes that go to it?  Good question.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was taken over by Trump.  How does that affect me?  It doesn't.  Has always seemed like an elitist's perk. It's not been cut, just taken over by Trump and his crowd.   

The continued push to acquire Greenland is embarrassing.   

What about our daily life survival and recreation?   Recreation is important for mental health.  Maybe some folks like Trump and Musk don't do outdoors.   We do here in Oregon.  It's in our genes, our spirits.   And we don't know if  forest service and or BLM campgrounds will operate this summer since they've been hit with huge cuts.  The feds tell states to thin federal forests to prevent wildfires and at the same time cut the forest services' budget and fire thousands of its employees.  

We seniors do not know if we will or won't reliably get Social Security checks or if those of us who rely on medicaid in various ways will continue to get it.

Meanwhile, our local health care system that stretches from Sweet Home to the coast has announced it is in financial trouble and missed some bank deadline and is open to buyout.   If they go under since they have a virtual monopoly in the two counties, Linn and Lincoln, thousands of us would end up without health care access.  If medicaid gets cut, that might be the nail in their coffin.

The new supreme leader and his crew have inspired debates on what government should and shouldn't do for its people.   I would like government to stay out of our personal lives, like not  making laws that affect women's bodies, and be free of religion.   These are both private personal freedom matters.  Screaming about religious morals while violating those same morals is pretty ridiculous.   People can believe what they want, or should be able to do so, like that comes from our constitution.   Same old, screaming about following the constitution while at the same time violating it makes this new admin seem either supremely stupid or they just think everyone will overlook the hypocrisy.

What can I say?   We may be dooming ourselves.   I have no idea.