The news poses the question, Are you better off today than in the past? They're asking this question as we anticipate President Biden's State of the Union speech. That's a difficult question to ask as it seems like the whole world changed in the past couple of years. COVID really upset life as we knew it. So, in some ways, comparing life today to life a year or two ago, is like comparing apples to oranges. It's a new world today.
Yet, I suppose there are ways we can compare the two. For me, the ways in which life has become tougher has a lot to do with the wasted years of the self-serving Trump administration. During Trump's reign as President he created a divided country and ushered in a lot of disrespect, hate, violence, and harm. President Biden and his team have done an amazing job turning the tide from Trump's hateful, self-serving, oppressive regime, but too many Trumpians remain in office and they've continued to spur more hate, divide, and injustice. Trump's oppressive efforts remain a force to tackle in our country--a force that's oppressive at best.
So the ways life has become tougher includes the following Trump/Republican-supported oppressions:
- Neglect and lack of support for modernizing public education
- Neglect and lack of support for making health care more affordable and accessible to all Americans
- Neglect and lack of support for sensible gun laws
- Neglect and lack of support for protection and preservation of our natural resources
- Neglect and lack of support for humane policies related to migration and immigration issues
We've yet to fully rid our country of the hateful, hurtful Trump impact--an impact that soured our country in too many ways. Trump affected the media in ways that makes them hungry for propaganda-fueled conflict rather than honest, humane reporting that helps us to live good lives and do what we can to help one another.
As I think about my personal life, however. There is a lot of good. The people I love have jobs and support themselves. The medical professionals that take care of us are skilled. My relatives attend good schools. The environmental organizations around us are doing great work in protecting, preserving beautiful, healthy natural places. The leaders in government in the state where I live are doing good work for the people.
Yes, life is expensive, but in many ways that's due to our realization that everyone deserves an honest wage, a realization that doesn't allow us to use/abuse workers in ways that result in too-low pay and harmful/hurtful work conditions.
We've yet to bridge the huge wage/living gap between the have's and have-not's, and the Biden's administration efforts to make wealthy corporations pay their fair share is just starting.
So is life better today than two years ago. I would say that we're still smarting from the hateful, divisive, self-serving Trump influence. He took our country back, back, back, and there's lots of work to do to rid our government of the Trumpian self-serving, corrupt insurrectionists. When we rid our country of those wasteful, greedy individuals, we'll be better off. Biden has put us on a good path, and may that path continue. Onward.