If there was one thing that I took away from the Hands Off event in Mount Pleasant this afternoon, it is that the decisions being made by President and his underlings have and will continue to impact people negatively. Today we heard from only a few speakers who shared how they or their loved ones have been affected by the cuts made in Washington, D.C.
The two that stood out to me the most were the cuts to the library system, and cuts to medical research. While my son, Josh, passed away in 2021 from brain cancer, many of the chemotherapy drugs that helped to prolong his life were developed through the same type of research which is threatened now.
There are some who would argue that these cuts to the federal government are needed. I don’t think anybody would disagree with this. But, right now the issue is how the cuts are being implemented, haphazardly and without compassion.
There is a phrase which came to mind today during the rally: “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” It’s meaning is pretty obvious on the surface, but in the past I’ve also taken it to mean, “If something is working the way it is, there’s no sense in taking the risk of messing things up by trying to make changes.” Trump and Elon are making cuts in the spirit of saving money and increasing efficiency, but they are messing up services in the government that were at least working. What’s worse is that it is difficult to tell if they are oblivious to the affect their changes are making, or they don’t care.
It saddens me that services and resources will be taken away from the individuals who need them. Kids are going to grow up lacking the support that I and my own kids received when they were in school. That my youngest son’s education might not be as rich and supportive as it would have been if the Trump administration had taken a little more care with their cuts.
President Trump described the country as a “patient” which was still healthy after the introduction of new tariffs. His doctor analogy is interesting, because the one thing that a doctor swears when they begin practicing medicine is that they will “do no harm.” Had the president taken this oath, he would have broken it already. However, he did take a different type of oath when he was sworn in as President, and it doesn’t seem like he is holding to that very well, either.
The Mastodon is accepting submissions from citizens who are interested in sharing their stories about how they are resisting Trump, and what ways the cuts in the government are impacting their lives or the lives of their loved ones. If you want to share anonymously, I will still run the story. Submit your stories here.
