2018

I wanted to write about my hopes for 2018.
But I have fears.
I fear that if we do not become engaged as a people, the rich will continue to control our politics, and the working class and the poor will continue to suffer.

Something like 60% of eligible voters voted in the last presidential election.
That means 93 million eligible Americans didn’t even vote!

What has followed is a yearlong attempt to strip healthcare insurance from millions of Americans, rewrite the tax code to further favor the richest of all Americans at the expense of the working class and the poor, and an erosion of safety, environmental, and labor laws through executive decisions.

We like to complain about our “government” but we should remember that our own constitution begins with the words “We the people,” and Lincoln reminded us at Gettysburg of a “government of the people, by the people, for the people”

I understand people are frustrated.
I understand they feel helpless.
I also understand that it could be the downfall of this social experiment we call America.

My hope for 2018 is that we can shed that thinking.
Shed the idea that one person, one vote, will not matter.
Shed the idea that foreigners, or gays, or people of color, or _______, are out to take what we have.
My hope is that we can come together as a people, become engaged, and put “US” before “me.”

We will be tested this summer as the Janis v AFSCME decision comes down from the Supreme Court.
Public sector unions will become “right to work.”
Each member will need to decide,
Do I stand with my sisters and brothers in unity?

The answer to that question will determine the future of our society.