Month: July 2024

I went to bed last Saturday night and said a little prayer that President Biden would withdraw his candidacy the next day. I’ve felt in my gut since his dismal debate performance that he could not win and encouraged him through multiple emails to withdraw. Some thought he should stay, but I among many others, pressured him to withdraw.

Then with the shooting, the Republican Convention, and his Covid diagnosis, I felt an announcement on Sunday would be perfect timing because of all the political shows presented that day. And I was right! His withdrawal that day caught all the pundits by surprise, but not me. Those political pundits are wrong about a lot of things these days. They were the ones who never believed that Donald Trump could win the presidency in 2016. I’m tired of the constant speculations and I refuse to give their opinions much weight. I watch the news for facts, not for interpretations and predictions.

I was pleased by Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris and stunned by the rapid endorsements she received from all the other potential candidates. Many, like me, immediately opened my wallet and the funds to fuel her election campaign started pouring in. For the first time in months, I felt like we could really win this election and protect the people we love as well as the earth we live on. This candidacy is about the freedom to live our lives in our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. It is about expanding equal justice under the law and equal opportunities to succeed. It is about fairness in the tax code, protecting the environment, access to healthcare, minimizing poverty, and preserving our rights to vote, love, speak, protest, worship, be safe, and to make reproductive decisions that are best for us. The contrast between what Kamala is offering and what Trump is offering is stark.

As Kamala’s campaign has already articulated, Trump wants to take us back to a past where white male privilege blocks equal access to opportunities and rights for women and minorities. “We will not go back” is a fitting slogan for the Harris campaign. Her campaign is highlighting how Project 2025 provides a blueprint to strip away the rights of workers, women, LGBTQ folks, and anyone who would dare protest against the president. Project 2025 codifies a system where heterosexual Christian men call all the shots and the rest of us are simply servants to their laws and dictates for how we should live. It is the opposite of freedom; it is fascism.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of voting Americans who harbor enough fear, hatred, or misinformation regarding issues like the economy, education, abortion, immigration, crime, history, science, transgender people, and religious minorities that they will vote for a person who promises to “Make America Great Again” no matter how flawed the candidate is or how horrific America once was for a good portion of the country who do not look or think like them. They just want to be comfortable. They’re not comfortable with the changing ethnic demographics. They’re not comfortable with the changing power dynamics they see around them. They’re not comfortable with the changing morality. They’re not comfortable with the rapid scientific evidence that challenges many of their religious beliefs. They fear change and hate the people who represent that change.

Trump supporters want to believe that climate change is a hoax. They want to believe that pregnancy is easy and complication free. They want to believe that there are only two genders. They want to believe that the Bible can replace scientific knowledge. They want to believe that they can pray the gay away. They want to believe that we were founded as a Christian nation. They want to believe that men are smarter, stronger, and superior to women. They want to believe that men are protectors and defenders of women. They want to believe that whiteness is superior and qualified to lead. They want to believe that guns protect them. They want to believe that the wealthy will take care of the poor.

This November will determine the trajectory of our nation. Will we continue to move toward a multicultural society where every American enjoys equal rights under the law, where a safety net exists for the most vulnerable, where we work to mitigate climate change, and where everyone enjoys expanding economic and social opportunities? Or will we create a “Christian” patriarchal system ruled by heterosexual Christian males, Old-Testament based lawmaking, and a denial of environmental dangers? The choice is ours and the responsibility to secure the future we desire lies squarely on our shoulders.

Our first responsibility is to register to vote, making sure to have state issued ID, and then to vote. But because the stakes are higher than ever, we should do more than this. Our second job is to educate the people around us about the stakes involved in this election, whether through art, music, social media posts, or casual conversation. Too many are unaware of the threat because they are busy living their lives. Know the facts and have your talking points ready to share at every opportunity. Third, we should donate to the campaigns of candidates standing up for our freedoms. Fourth, we should volunteer to register voters, work for campaigns, or serve as poll workers. I personally think it’s imperative to insist that our local governments provide poll security this year, especially in red states. If folks can vote early, use a drop box or vote by mail, they should definitely do so.

And finally, we must fight on behalf of our fellow citizens who are subjected to long voting lines. It is unfair voter suppression for people in poor neighborhoods to be forced to wait hours to vote while affluent voters can walk right in to cast their votes. Personally, I have never waited more than 15 minutes to vote because I live in an affluent area. Until the 2020 election, I thought this was true across the nation. I was disturbed to learn that people in urban areas waited as long as 11 hours to cast their ballots. Of course, we will never know how many people simply gave up because they couldn’t wait that long. The Republican led states are notorious for limiting drop boxes, voting by mail, and not accepting student IDs. It is up to us to address this issue now. This is a civil rights issue, and we should contact the NAACP and the Department of Justice to raise the issue and demand that they make this right.

Yesterday, Trump promised his Christian supporters that this would be the last election they will need to vote in should he win because they will fix things to make it so. Believe him! As I write this post, the polls indicate that this will be a close election. I acknowledge that we may or may not agree with all of Kamala’s policies, but the alternative is a loss of our basic freedoms and exposure of the most vulnerable among us to hardship. So, it is time for all hands-on deck to ensure an equitable and livable future for us and our loved ones.

If Biden remains in the race, the likelihood that Trump will win is high. It’s not that Americans think Biden is a bad person; it’s that they can’t stand to see a frail looking, slow talking, inarticulate old man leading them and representing them on the world stage. They prefer the signs of vitality, even if the other person is a deeply flawed, bombastic, lying, felon. Too many Americans mistakenly think this is a competition between two old white men, when in fact it is a fight for how this country will treat its citizens moving forward.

I’ve spent many nights lying awake thinking about what it will mean to have our basic rights stripped away. I’ve visited China and Cuba where people are unwilling to answer simple questions for fear of being prosecuted by their government. They fear making any waves and encourage the silence of their family and friends. They steer clear of controversy and perform fake loyalty as a survival mechanism. Even my international students from China were careful of their words and actions because other Chinese students might report them to Chinese authorities. A wrong word or participation in a protest can land them in prison or dead. People in authoritarian countries go along quietly in order to survive until life becomes unbearable. Only then are there protests where protestors willingly sacrifice their lives to make a point. Even then, things don’t necessarily change.

This will be our future under Project 2025 when our government will silence protests using the police and military and the president can order the imprisonment or murder of his political enemies with immunity according to the recent ruling of the Supreme Court. A country where the president has full authority to weaponize the justice department to prosecute those who oppose him. Sounds like Russia or Iran or China because it is exactly like those countries.

Project 2025 calls for only loyalists to retain or assume roles in the administration of our civil service jobs. We’ve seen in authoritarian governments how incompetence, bribery and all manner of corruption are built into such a system. When loyalty is valued over expertise and experience, the entire country suffers, and true talent either leaves the country seeking freedom or is wasted. Historically, our country benefited from the mass exodus of talent from authoritarian governments. Perhaps the world will benefit from an exodus of doctors, teachers, scientists, journalists, scholars, and artists from the former U.S.

Project 2025 calls for the removal of the separation of church and state and the installation of a white nationalist “Christian” state where Muslims are banned, undocumented immigrants are rounded up, pornography is illegal, no fault divorce leaves people trapped in abusive marriages, the wealthy pay less in taxes, environmental science is silenced, monitoring and regulations for public health disappear, history and science are rewritten, gays and transgender lose their rights, overtime pay is discarded, and women no longer have control over their reproductive decisions. The wealthy are given the keys to become even wealthier, welding more power and influence than ever while the poor, women, and minorities will be their footstool, devoid of basic rights and threatened into submission. The gays and transgender will be made invisible like in Russia where Putin claims with confidence that there are no gay people. In Uganda, they simply kill them. Imagine returning to the days when most people have to depend on the charity and good will of the very wealthy for survival? Or the days when women had to depend on men for everything? This is Project 2025.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to respond if this election is lost to those who favor a new authoritarian government under Trump that is styled according to Project 2025. And I’ve only come up with a few first steps. First, we’ve secured updated passports in case fleeing the country is the best option and we’ve talked about which countries might welcome us. Second, we’ve made sure we have access to liquid funds in case banks are undermined. Third, we’ve stockpiled masks since this will be a government devoid of public health scientists and regulations and a willingness to lie should Covid mutate into a more deadly form, or some new pandemics visit us. Forth, we have both a water and air filtration system. Fifth, we will limit our purchases of goods and services to necessities, and curtail entertainment outside the house, keeping to ourselves. Sixth, we will end all use of social media and turn off all tracking and update privacy settings on our phone. Seventh, we will get a VPN for our computer search engine and watch news reports from outside the country. Eighth, we will get a backup generator for emergency power. And finally, we will increase our efforts to grow our own produce to be completely self-sufficient.

No matter who wins, I suspect there will be violence in the streets and a wise person will not be in those streets unless they are willing to physically fight. We are too old for that. So, we will remain home, supporting the freedom fighters as best we can. I also expect that we are going to experience the exponential rise in homegrown terrorism and cyberattacks from opposing sides, seeking to undermine the next administration and to wreak havoc on the nation. In fact, this past week, the gay furries successfully hacked The Heritage Foundation computer network. Opposition groups are already making their presence and their agenda known to the public. There will be more of that on both sides.

It is difficult to fantom that this is where we are. But here we are, literally sleep-walking into authoritarianism unless something changes very quickly. The biggest change needs to be awareness of Project 2025 among voting citizens. For starters, I don’t think enough people realize just how bad things will be for everyone if our government starts rounding up 15 million undocumented people who are working throughout this country. Not only will it cause personal heartaches and chaos, but with unemployment already low, who do they think will assume the many important jobs undocumented people are currently doing? Be prepared to pay higher prices for just about everything and to see a huge amount of goods and services disappear. And as they fire experienced civil servants and experts, be prepared for a slow and incompetent civil service across all sectors of society.

Many people behind Project 2025 and a few of those who support it have a vision of humanity wherein they believe it is God’s natural order to favor white heterosexual males above everyone else. Others believe it is just Christian males, apart from skin color, who should be on top. Most others who support Project 2025 view it as a means to either remain on top or to stifle competition for power and economic success. These people have convinced themselves that the rest of humanity should exist to revere and to serve them. And they plan to assert their authority as they once did, with violence. It is our collective decision to either stop them, run from them, or submit to them. It will take an even greater amount of resolve and force to stop them, but the alternative looks too horrific to accept.

I wrote another letter to Speaker Johnson. This time I challenged him as one Christian to another on his plans to help fundamentally reshape the country into a Taliban-like theocracy. I believe we must do everything in our power to stop Project 2025 from becoming our reality. I choose persuasion; others may choose protest. But we must all do something because pundits are saying that the attempted assassination of Trump at his Pennsylvania rally yesterday makes him far more likely to win the election because of the sympathy vote and the vote of those who are enamored by his defiant strong man response.

Dear Speaker Johnson,

I have been a born-again Christian since February 14, 1971.  I spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday School and another 5 years working with youth in my church.  My professional career was spent working at a Lutheran private college where I was a professor in the graduate school of education and a campus administrator.

I write to you today as a patriotic voting citizen who cares deeply about the Constitution of our country and the attention that must continue to be paid to the establishment clause that ensures every American of their freedom of religion and an assurance that the state will not impose a specific religion upon them.

That said, I’m appalled by the Republican move and the conversative court’s movement toward theocracy.  In particular, I oppose Project 2025 and it’s revolution and endorsement of violence to accomplish it’s authoritarian goals.  There is nothing “Christlike” about this plan. I am shocked by state laws that now impose the teaching of the Bible and the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools.  Not only are these mandates clear violations of establishment clause, but they are an affront to Christianity itself. 

As a follower of Christ, I must question the theology and even the wisdom of imposing the Old Testament laws of an angry God upon the people of this nation. Conservative claims that this is a “Christian” nation is a rewriting of history and worse, it is a contradiction to the types of laws you and your party seek to impose.

The lies, political tricks, and even threats of violence your party employs to gain power are typical of sinners, not saints.  Jesus told us that we will know a tree by its fruit.  Greed for money and power make up the root and trunk of your conservative tree. Nothing good will come from it.  Your party has embraced Trump, a tree that has produced nothing but rotten fruit. The fruit of your laws will produce more deaths by gunfire, environmental pollution that will destroy life on the planet, a rollback of access to healthcare, expanded hunger, more maternal deaths, rampant bullying, and legal discrimination of minorities. I see no compassion, but only exclusion and misery for people who are not white, heterosexual males.

Conservatives ban books that help children to understand and accept the reality that human beings are diverse and that we can live together in peace.  These are anti-bullying books.  In addition, conservatives seek to hide our nation’s history of exploitation, violence, discrimination, and genocide.  Instead of healing the wounds of the past, you seek to bury the truth when Jesus tells us that it is the truth that sets us free.  Repentance, redemption, and restoration come with the truth, not with denying past wrongs.

The reality is that no one can groom a person to be something they are not. You cannot groom a child to be another gender or a homosexual.  You can only make them feel safe or not to reveal their true selves.  You cannot force people through laws, intimidation, and violence to accept your view of Christianity either.  History has shown that it doesn’t work.  The truth of human nature and science will always rise from the ashes. 

I grow weary of watching Republicans engaging in fear-mongering and outright lying.  I’ve heard Trump and other Republicans repeatedly lie that democrats approve of aborting viable babies at eight or nine months gestation and even after birth.  Is it that the Ten Commandments are for thee but not for me with you guys?  “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”.  Remember that one? Let’s not even talk about how many commandments Trump has violated in his personal life. Jesus warned you that the love of money is the root of all evil, but you all aren’t paying any attention to that in your embrace of his lawlessness and evil.

 Jesus preached and led the way in taking care of the hungry, the sick, the outcast, the children and welcoming the immigrant.  He didn’t condemn sinners, but rather encouraged repentance. It appears to me that the laws the democrats propose are more in alignment with the care for others that Jesus stood for and taught his disciples while the Republicans are stuck in the condemnation and lack of compassion of the Old Testament God.  Evangelical Christians these days are characterized by their hate, not love.  Jesus had compassion for the outsiders in society and included them, never condemning or ostracizing them. I note that he never mentioned gays even though they were certainly present.  He never mentioned abortion even though abortion has been part of the human saga.  I must note that according to the Bible itself, this body is just a tent formed in the womb and becomes a living soul when it is capable of breath. So many fertilized eggs are naturally miscarried before viability, so why would anyone believe these “human bodies under construction” are more valuable than the living and breathing women who are nourishing them through their own bodily sacrifice and peril?  And I’ve never seen a living human being capable of being frozen indefinitely and then coming back to life to continue  developing.  This body is simply a tent that temporarily houses a breathing, thinking, and ambitious human soul. 

Being a mother of three, I endured the months of sickness, the backpains, and the pain and risks of childbirth along with the scars that remained afterwards.  I required major surgery following the birth of my third child. Pregnancy and childbirth is risky business and we have the maternal mortality rates to prove it.  My point is that Republicans forcing women to risk their lives and endure the hardships of pregnancy and childbirth against their freewill is cruelty at its worse. Not every woman has the physical nor mental capacity to endure a pregnancy.

With this letter, I am hoping to appeal to your sense of right and wrong, good and evil.  Project 2025 is evil. It moves people away from the love of Jesus and the salvation He offers and not towards it.  It has no foundation in the Gospel or teachings of Jesus and seeks to undermine the constitutional freedoms citizens of this country enjoy and thrive under. Under Project 2025, we will be worse than North Korea, China, Russia and Cuba.  The people there are not free and soon Americans will have less freedom than the citizens of those countries and that is a tragedy. Our innovation will be stifled.  Our pursuit of happiness in life on our own terms will no longer be an option.  Our economy will crash.  Oppressed people are not happy and thriving people; they are hopeless and stop innovating. Our lives will be no different from the Afghan people under the Taliban.   

At least China and much of the world aren’t denying science and are paying attention to climate change.  If Project 2025 is implemented, I believe China will soon lead the world and perhaps that will in fact turn out to be what saves the planet and humanity itself from destruction.  No one will enjoy freedom, but at least the planet will be here until the next generation of people, “yearning to breathe free”, mount their own revolution.  Or maybe Jesus will return and save us from ourselves.    

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall, concerned citizen

Like many Americans, I am both frustrated and furious with the recent decisions handed down by the Supreme Court. I decided it was time they heard how I felt about their decisions and about the obvious corruption among some of the conservative members, so I wrote to them. I share my letter with the hope to inspire to join the chorus of citizens who are making their frustration known.

Dear Supreme Court,

I have completely lost confidence in your judgment.  You have members who lack basic ethics.  You have members who take bribes, lied to get on the court, fail to recuse themselves, and have an agenda that goes against our Constitution and the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens.  You have broken this nation by granting criminal immunity to the Office of the Presidency when no other president in our history needed nor requested such a thing until Donald Trump who is probably guilty of many crimes against us, notwithstanding lying about a stolen election and trying to overturn the results to remain in office.  He’s taken money from foreign governments, stolen classified documents, and personally profited from his position as president.  We can’t trust a Republican Senate to hold him accountable because they too are afraid of him and his cult supporters who are armed and ready to kill on his behalf.  The threats of violence are rampant, and you empower it all with your decisions.

I have lost confidence in the rule of law and no longer believe we are a nation of reasonable laws.  You made corporations people and we’ve seen how horribly that has played out.  You made guns readily available and now we can’t go to the grocery store, church, school or a movie theater without fear of being gunned down.  You’ve taken away a woman’s right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy that could kill her, or a dying fetus, or even one that was unplanned.  Women will die and lives will be ruined and countless unwanted babies will be doomed to poverty and child abuse. Your decision robs women of their right to life, liberty and their pursuit of happiness in favor of a fetus that has no ability to exist on its own. You’ve taken away the power of expert government agencies to regulate greedy corporations who would readily pollute our air, food, and water for profit.  You’ve further opened the door to planetary disaster.  I pity my children and grandchildren who will live with the consequences of your actions.

You lack credibility and I have no idea which Americans will choose to abide by your unreasonable rulings moving forward.  In my eyes, you are completely illegitimate.  You have invited anarchy.  No reasonable person believes that a corrupt court should have the authority to make decisions that significantly affect their lives and well-being in so many negative ways.  I know I don’t.

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall, Citizen of the United States