Letter: I Am Grieving

To the Editor: 
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Grief awakens me. My room, still dark in the pre-dawn. Restless, I sift through a toxic stew of  harsh realities conjuring in our nation. I don’t think I’m alone. I also know others see things very  differently.  
Our president’s unprecedented 100 minute + speech Tuesday night showed just how he intends  to move us into an authoritarian oligarchy. He avalanched the American people with lies,  misinformation, exaggeration, glittering generalities and vague promises—A manipulative tactic known as gaslighting, all to benefit himself. The balance of Democracy as we know it now tilts  off the beam away from respectful governance. My gut churned when he brought in average  citizens, adults and youth who’d endured serious traumas. A disguised message of honor, that in reality furthers his power grabbing agenda. 
Our president denounces diversity, equity and inclusion. He makes English the official  language. He continues villainization and criminalization of immigrants. He issues executive  orders that stop or limit funding and services for veterans, people with disabilities, for affirmative  action, the poor, the marginalized and senior citizens. Our President and V.P. aggressively  bullied Ukrainian President Zelensky, accusing him of being a dictator and falsely claiming his  country started the war with Russia. Even elementary children, who happened to watch the  news, know that Russia invaded Ukraine.  
A Democracy recognizes the fundamental dignity and worth of every person. It respects equality of all persons. It’s founded on majority rule and minority rights. It accepts compromise as  necessary and facilitates the widest possible freedom for individuals. The tenets of our  constitution guarantee that these principles be upheld.  
Messy? Yes. Does Democracy require compromise? Yes. Have aspects of our government  been fraught with corruption and waste? Yes. Do we need immigration reforms? Yes. But not  through ‘slash and burn.’ Are some reforms needed? Yes. These problems are bigger than  partisan politics. Our president has a different agenda. Winning business deals, colonizing and  control, accelerating economic gain for himself and other wealthy businesses. He will do it on  the backs of the American people by cutting social safety nets, blaming us for it, and continuing  tax breaks for the wealthy.  
Under the guise of cleaning up waste and fraud, our president allows his billionaire benefactor,  Musk, to run the show. Musk has no vested interest in the reasons for our social programs and  supports for sectors of our society. He’s ready to colonize Mars and anywhere else he pleases.  His statement that “Social Security is an existential threat to our country,” shows no  
understanding of our history or our culture. This new administration throws out the baby with the  bathwater, instituting draconian policies that abuse power, support lawlessness, and have  placed our nation in a Constitutional Coup. A Constitutional Coup equals loss of basic rights,  support for dictators, extreme divisions, and a potential police state.  
I’m a white, middle class woman, now retired, living on Social Security and a modest pension.  I’m fortunate to have advanced degrees which supported my 58 year career in education, social  work and business. I’ve lived and worked in other countries. Today, having SS and a pension  allows me, as a retired person, to contribute to the economy and be a productive senior citizen.  Unfortunately, this is not the reality for many retired folks in our nation. We are all vulnerable  here.
My entire personal and professional life, I’ve advocated for educational programs and  curriculum that supports diversity, that affirm differences and similarities, and that foster critical  thinking skills. Better to give a person the resources to draw their own conclusions rather than  telling them what to think. While living and working in Mexico with my husband, I learned  Spanish. Doing so taught me how to better understand the richness of other cultures. It has  helped me see through my stereotypes and biases about people. Living through the Civil Rights  era of the 1960’s tied with my faith to teach me to help the poor and marginalized, to see our  planet as a Global Village of interconnections, to stand for justice. This Global Village is our  home. It remains fragile. It requires tending and conscious action to protect and sustain it.  
Belief systems set the stage for everything. We can hear what we want to hear and believe what  we want, but if we don’t understand where our beliefs come from, and have good information,  it’s impossible to draw appropriate conclusions. Bias comes with the territory of being human.  We are fundamentally egocentric. With the right exposure to other points of view and ways of  life, we can grow into empathic and compassionate humans. No one, me included, wants to  acknowledge that we’re biased. What we do reflects what we believe. 
A look at our president’s own history reveals a lot about his beliefs. A historical dynamic that’s  important to understand. As a young man, he was groomed by Attorney Roy Cohn, a former  aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy. The lessons? Always attack, never admit mistakes or defeat,  create loyalty through fear, use the law to intimidate, and aggressively discredit opponents. The  shoe fits perfectly.  
Today, 
I stand with the principles of our Constitution. 
I stand with programs that support basic human rights for all people. 
I stand with the science of gender diversity.  
I stand with the science of climate change and protections for our natural resources. I stand with the principles of democracy that support inclusion, diversity and diplomacy.  I stand with diplomacy actions that support the best interest of other nations as well as my own.  I stand with just economic principles which provide opportunities for ALL people, not just  billionaires and corporations. 
I stand with global groups which uphold International Laws, and global alliances that advocate  for basic human needs and working together. Our Democracy demands it. Our Global Village  demands it.  
Sally Cunningham Kane 
Newaygo, MI

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