The Choices We Have To Make...

 

It is very hard in America today to not be in a near constant state of anxiety. Having lived through Covid 19 the concern is still present because the threat of another pandemic is always present.

The inflationary pressures are hitting the middle class and the working poor very hard and many are living unhealthy lives because the cost of healthful food is so out of reach for many. This has a direct long-term impact one ones health.

Millions in America are without proper or sufficient healthcare. The USA is the wealthiest country in the world. We can spend billions fighting wars and helping other nations in need, yet we cannot afford to put a universal health care system in place so all our people have adequate health care.

Our political system has been under attack by DJT and sycophants since 2015 and now we have one party that has no agenda other than to tear everything down and as near as i can tell just wing it from there. But one thing we can be certain of, corporations and the wealthy will continue to be very well taken care of while the rest of us get scraps.

Our civil liberties are under attack by authoritarian minded conservatives who are day by day working to restrict voting rights, thus making IT more difficult to exercise ones right to vote. Following the nonsensical ultra conservative SCOTUS decision on abortion red states are one by one creating horror stories due to their recent barbaric state laws regulating abortions and access to safe medical procedures. Conservatives and religionists are working to undermine the rights of LBGTQ to lead normal, happy, and healthy lives. All based on fear and misguided religious beliefs.

The above is but a brief synopsis of our most troubling concerns. President Biden is absolutely and positively right about us being in a fight for the kind of country we wish to live in and pass to future generations. Do we want it to be freer with more personal liberty or will we accept a less free and much more restrictive society?

Do we want to live in a country where medical help is available for everyone one on an affordable basis or to continue to live in a country that even with its wealth many remain without health care because it's  to damn unaffordable?

Do we want to live in a country where people are free to love who they love and be accepted and seen for who they are or do we want to continue to live in a bigoted country where people are othered, disregarded, and forced to once again live in the shadows hidden from view?

Do we want to live in a country where access to voting is made simpler and easier (also safe from tampering) or in a country where access to voting is more restrictive?

We have a choice before us in 2024 and beyond. We can choose to become freer and remain a beacon of light and hope for the world, or we can choose to give the government fully over to the conservatives and religionists and become a less democratic, less free, less compassionate, more intolerant, more judgmental, greedier, and less forgiving country. The choice will be ours. Let's not blow it. A solid majority of Americans wish for a more compassionate and understanding nation. Not one with much less of both.

Bodhicitta Dedication Prayer

May the pure, brilliant sun of bodhicitta
Dawn in each and every heart and mind,
Dispelling the darkness of suffering and confusion,
Unstoppably, until all are fully illumined and awakened.