From my viewpoint at the water’s edge, the times ahead don’t look good. They actually look like the worst of times. My mother, who turned 101 this year, has seen a lot since her birth in 1923 – even she agrees with me.
By the time this piece goes to press it will be 2025. It will be Black History Month. And, a familiar person will once again occupy the White House.
The years 2024-2028 will definitely be hard to forget – a sitting president struggled to convince the American people that his age and health were not a serious factor – his abrupt ‘seventh inning’ withdrawal from the presidential race – a Black woman, once a criminal prosecutor then Vice-President thrust into the game (race) – and most ironic: her opponent a convicted felon!
As best we can tell, Vice President Harris lost in a fair election to a felon, who will be sworn into office by now. Whether we like it or not the people have spoken. VP Harris ran a good race and her loss was tragic, gravely disappointing but honestly not a total surprise. She had two strikes against her – race and gender – before she even stepped into the batter’s box. The bases were loaded with two outs.
It was, for the second time, wishful thinking that the majority of the American people would elect a woman, let alone a black one, to the highest position in the free world. Being Catholic I voiced my frustration to a friend saying, “given the overall culture of this country, the Blessed Virgin Mary wouldn’t have a chance of getting elected even if she were running against Satan himself!” Mary was a woman, likely with dark skin and from the Middle East – strike three! We have a lot of healing and reckoning to do before that change has a chance.
What’s done is done. What can we expect in the years ahead? How might our re-elected leader’s promises and appointments affect our health and wellness?
Of primary concern should be his reference to wanting to be and act like a dictator. That word and way of acting is not something to be frivolously thrown about. Countless Americans have died in wars against such leaders. However, he recently said, that he would “not be a dictator except for Day 1” of his presidency. He has promised to act swiftly and without mercy against his adversaries and on his major campaign promises. Those promises include: mass deportations of certain immigrants and casting them as criminals, pardoning Jan. 6 rioters and casting them as “patriots,” imposing steep tariffs on our nearest neighbors Canada and Mexico, cracking down on trans gender rights, cutting federal funding for schools that teach “critical race theory,” supporting closing Equity and Inclusion departments, banning women’s rights to an abortion, reversing President Biden’s climate policies in order to push more oil and gas production and lowering air and water quality standards.
We should also be concerned with at least two men with interesting histories and perspectives: Robert Kennedy Jr. who is reportedly anti-science to lead The Department of Health and Human Services and multi billionaire Elon Musk to lead the newly created “department of government efficiency.” The cost of living will definitely go up and our access to affordable health care and retirement benefits will become harder to come by. All of the above are guaranteed to have a negative impact on our health and wellness. So, what can we do?
Times like these force us to be more vigilant and forceful in saying “enough is enough.” It won’t be enough just say it, we must genuinely act. We must commit to actively caring for one another and our community. We cannot stand idly by as bad things happen to good people or to our natural world. Whether he is truly a threat to democracy is yet to be determined. His plans are, without a doubt, a direct threat to our health and wellness.
The years ahead will be a reminder of the dangers of growing too comfortable. We must now be prepared to draw a line of resistance in the sand and find positive and peaceful ways to push back! We must be a light in the darkness just like members of my mother’s generation were during their worst of times!
Dr. Bartlett is a retired educator. He retired from Gonzaga University in 2007 and Eastern Washington University in 2020.