I just heard on cable news and Twitter that the president of the United States is going to declare a national emergency to get the necessary funding for his vanity project which is a wall on our southern border. Nearly every intelligent source I’ve read or listened to knows that there is no emergency on our southern border. Mexicans and other groups who are fleeing dangerous countries in Central America are legitimate refugees. For years I’ve listened as primarily Republican politicians politicize immigration and never do anything to address the issue. It’s another one of their divisive issues designed to split the electorate and mask the real issues facing our country.
Today is the one year anniversary of the horrific massacre of school children and their teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. There approximately 300 million guns in the United States today and though many of them are owned by law abiding citizens however those guns are designed for one purpose and that is to kill and inflict physical harm. Worse still the kind of gun that was used at last year is an assault weapon which is designed to be a weapon of war and is not at all necessary to hunt game animals with. Following the tragedy of Parkland and the countless other gun violence incidents which have occurred over the years at schools, theatres, shopping malls, fast food establishments et cetera there has been no national emergency declared nor any substantive legislative action at the national level. There is a real emergency. Every time I sit in a public place like a movie theatre I wonder if there is some kook in the audience who has an agenda. There are no safe places in America anymore. Even churches, synagogues and mosques have been invaded by gun violence.
In addition to that horrific dereliction of duty by our elected representatives we have the emerging climate crisis which threatens our existence and all living creatures on our planet. Recently I watched a congressional hearing where a member of the GOP mocked the seriousness of the Green New Deal which has recently been in the news. Why are both of these horrific tragedies unaddressed? Our government is run by corporate interests who care little about the rights of the citizens of the United States of America.