We stand upon the
brink of a precipice. We peer into the abyss—we grow sick and dizzy. Our first impulse
is to shrink away from the danger. Unaccountably we remain.
--Edgar Allan Poe
Last week Hillary Clinton lost
the election, to the horrified surprise of millions around the world. In two
months Donald Trump will become the president of the United States. Though I’m
tempted to cry “Not my president,” of
course this is one reality show I can’t avoid. Thanks to the people H.L. Mencken
called the “booboisie” long ago, we are stuck with Trump for a few years.
Better informed observers than I
am will long debate how this atrocity happened. The consensus seems to be that Trump
simply capitalized on the unemployment, expensive tuition, skyrocketing medical
costs, and other national problems we are suffering, and persuaded millions of
voters that he could somehow “make America great” again.
Perhaps some actually believed that
the fifties were a golden age to which we should return. Certainly it was a
good period financially for the low-skilled white male workers who could get
good jobs on auto assembly lines, for instance. There were other high points,
too. Thanks to Sputnik and the National Science Foundation, it was even a good
time for science education. However, most women were still confined to traditional
low-paying jobs as secretaries, nurses, and teachers. Black men and women, as
always, suffered discrimination in housing and jobs. We were all polluting the environment
and quickly using fossil fuels and other natural resources.
During the sixties and seventies,
enormous progress was made in civil rights and environmental concerns. Many of
those who had been left out of the postwar boom began to share in the wealth.
Even teachers’ salaries began rising. The EPA was established, and the National
Parks Service was expanded. Thanks to the Pill and to the Roe v. Wade decision, women were freed of what biologist Garrett
Hardin called “mandatory motherhood.” For the first time in history, they could have
children if and when they wanted to.
Eventually, though, greed has won
over benevolence. The income taxes that were never onerous in comparison with those
in Europe have fallen steadily, and most of the country’s wealth is now held by
a small percent of individuals and corporations. Our middle class has become a
lower class, earning less while working harder, and paying far too much for health care and other needs .
Those at the bottom of the ladder are pushed even farther down in the struggle
for survival.
As a citizen and voter, I have
two major concerns that affect everything else: the environment and education. During
his campaign, Trump pledged to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education or to
cut its influence greatly, giving more power to the states. If he makes good on
his campaign promises, the public schools will be greatly harmed, leading to an
even less educated citizenry. As to the environment, he has made the ridiculous
claim that human-caused climate change is a hoax. Under Trump environmental
quality will decline, because the EPA will lose its capability to establish and
enforce environmental protections. Our beloved national parks will be overrun
by developers and ranchers.
In addition, women and
minorities will lose their hard-won gains. Violence against immigrants and
native-born minorities will increase. (Since the election even children are being
targeted by bigots; some are afraid to venture out of their classrooms, or fear
deportation.)
One group will come out well,
though—Trump and his cronies, self-satisfied rich white guys. I can imagine
them now, relaxing on their yachts and laughing gleefully at the stupid voters
who were taken in by their promises. We can only hope that in 2020, the Republicans
have not yet destroyed the planet, and can be voted out of office.
Text copyright © 2016 by Carol
Stone
