James
Baldwin once said, “anyone who has ever
struggled with poverty knows how extremely
expensive it is to be poor.” It’s also
incredibly time-consuming. If you’re Black and
poor, that’s a double whammy. The American
electorate came into 2025 exhausted from
emotional fatigue and financial stress. Since
the November election, the implementation of
Project 2025 has accelerated. We, the People,
will need all the energy we have to muster up
an effective fightback, so let’s organize to
slow down this runaway train.
It
is painfully clear that we have a dangerous
set of clowns in the White House. And this is
no laughing matter. The convicted felon in the
White House has signed a dizzying 68 executive
orders. This country is about to experience
some life-altering changes. The rest of the
world won’t have the luxury of being
spectators of the pain inflicted upon us poor
souls; they are going to catch some hell too.
The
MAGA game plan is to keep us distracted,
confused, poor and broken down. They are doing
a damn good job so far. We are tired because
in very steady and subtle ways, we take on
more work. Like working two part-time jobs to
make one decent-paying job. Like working two
people’s jobs at your one job. Like bagging
your own groceries. Like pumping your own gas.
Like chasing down people for repairs they
screwed up. Like researching that new
medication prescribed for your mother. All
this is mooching on our time and burning up
our limited energy.
Over
time, the government has reduced the amount of
money for social services which includes the
proverbial safety net that catches us when
there are the inevitable, unexpected
situations. This scenario forces families to
track down the resources they need to survive.
This is especially stressful in the case of
natural disasters and the long-term recovery
that follows. As climate change increases,
these disasters will be more frequent and more
destructive. There are only so many GoFundMe
pleas to which we can respond.
The
current administration has shut down or is
threatening to shut down federal protection
agencies like FEMA, EPA, FDA, Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau and others. There
is no consideration for who takes on their
unfilled missions. The trump administration
simply doesn’t care. The government is
unloading on us in the name of efficient
government and national security. As for the
tax dollars saved as a result of these extreme
reductions, they will surely find their way
into the pockets of the oligarchs inside and
outside of the trump regime.
Congress
has a big role in stopping this runaway train.
You need to get really familiar with your paid
public servant; they work for you. Get
organized so that you are part of community
groups to put pressure on Congress. We will
have to remind them constantly what the “for”
and “by” the people really means in the U.S.
Constitution. A constitution whose words might
as well have been written with disappearing
ink.
Unless
the rising majority truly rises to the
occasion and builds a formidable, united front
against fascism, we will watch homelessness
soar, crimes of survival increase, violence
erupt and hope fade. The mainly white clowns
in power will create a devolution of
civilization that we have never known. Think
of all the havoc that Gil Scot-Heron
described, times ten. We’ll be scavenging
around in a barren world while “whitey’s on
the moon,” compliments of Elon Musk’s
spaceship.
