Whack a mole

Wham! Bam! Don’t you wish it was that easy to get rid of decisions you thought were decided forever? I am continuously surprised watching society revisit the same issues over and over again without making progress. I keep thinking we’re moving forward only to see well considered ideas erode to push us backwards. The following are a few items I that were once behind us.

Trashing Neighborhoods. Whack! There was a time when the streets of our cities was littered with trash. People thought nothing of throwing cigarette and gum wrappers on the ground and out car windows. And then, in 1965, came Lady Bird Johnson with a campaign to clean up America. She started working on beautifying D.C. before taking her mission nationwide. She believed that a cleaner, more beautiful country would calm people and bring them together. Her efforts had some success, and for years people picked up after themselves. Now there is a new wave of litterers who trash and mar our streets, reminding me of third world country slums. Bam! Hit it down! Let’s restore Johnson’s original goal and beautify our cities, clean up trash, and border roadways with natural vegetation.. 

Abortion.  Whack!  I thought that topic was put to rest 50 years ago. Our citizens agreed that women had rights to make decisions about their own bodies. It wasn’t up to the government to interfere in conversations that belonged in the doctor’s office and family living rooms.The current rush to pass abortion bills and revisit the issue, reverses years of discussion, research and agreement. It returns women to seeking back room abortions, abandoning thousands of unwanted infants wto a life of poverty and crime. It divides the nation by putting us on vitriolic sides, that makes neighbors  hate each other. Bam! Hit it down.

Low income housing. Whack! There was a time when poor people didn’t wander  the streets of America? Through HUD and other social services we made sure \all citizens received a subsidy insuring they were housed. Over the last two years, the White House has directly attacked our efforts to house the poor. They are now calling for a 10.25 billion dollar reduction in funds for public housing assistance, partnership programs, housing for persons with disabilities and the elderly.  These budget cuts follow on last year’s push to slash eighteen percent of HUD’s budget despite studies, like one done by the University of North Carolina, showing it is significantly cheaper to house the homeless than leave them on the streets. Bam! Hit it down!

Nuclear Proliferation. Whack! Though not perfect, international steps were made to reduce nuclear weapons. Treaties with Russia and Iran were hailed a milestones. Stopping North Korea from atomic prowess was a high priority. Over the last two years we’ve pulled out of agreements with Russia and Iran and are playing footsie with a North Korea dictator. We have begun a new arms race. I remember years of fear when schoolchildren were taught to take shelter under their desks in case of a nuclear attack. Why is that nonsense happening again?  Bam! Hit it down!

Prison Reform. Whack!  Since our country’s beginning, prison reformers have struggled with how to punish criminals while preserving their humanity, how to protect the public while allowing prisoners to renter society and how to satisfy the desire of victims for justice and revenge. Americans view incarceration as just punishment. It takes away personal freedoms while protecting the public.The problem is that strict punishment and long sentences don’t stop people from committing crimes. It does not increase public safety but it does cost society money. The three strikes and you’re out crime law has blossomed prisons with low level criminals (mostly marijuana smokers) who were disproportionately African American. When released they remain a burden to society. Bam! Hit it down! The current administration is trying to bring about reform by placing prisoners closer to their families, reducing unfair sentences, giving federal judges more discretion in low-level cases and limiting some mandatory minimum sentences. It is a beginning, but the federal system accounts for only 10 percent of the prison system as a whole. Let’s start working on reforms within the states and get rid of private companies managing prisons. Bam! Hit it down! Fight for decarceration.

Climate Change and Global Warming. Whack!  When did our citizens adopt such uneducated, uncaring and destructive outlooks about the environment. For years scientists spoke of the disaster humankind was bringing on itself through carbon emissions and other pollutants released in the atmosphere. Nations of the world came together to get rid of chloroflourocarbons and close the Ozone hole. Why can’t we do the same to solve global warming. The Paris Climate accord was an excellent beginning, yet the United States pulled out. Deniers are either lazy, greedy or uneducated. Bam! Hit it down! Human beings were given a brain. We’re made to think, solve problems, and preserve the planet and our very existence.

There are many other subjects that see-saw their way into the news and family discussions. Please share a few on my blog site that bother you.  

References

(2019) No New Housing:Impact of the Trump 2020 HUD Budget. Affordable Housing, retrieved from https://affordablehousingonline.com/fy20-hud-budget-cuts

McKay, T (2014) Study Reveals it Costs Less to Give the Homeless Housing Than Leave Them on the Street. MIC. Retrieved from https://www.mic.com/articles/86251/study-reveals-it-costs-less-to-give-the-homeless-housing-than-to-leave-them-on-the-street

Gale,T (2007) Prison Reform Movement. Encyclopedia.com. retrieved from https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/prison-reform-movement

Berger, D. (2019) “Prison Reform” Is Not Enough. In 2019 Let’s fight for Decarceration. Trending. retrieved from https://truthout.org/articles/prison-reform-is-not-enough-in-2019-lets-fight-for-decarceration/

Global Climate Change. (2019() NASA. retrieved from website at  https://climate.nasa.gov/

Lady Bird Johnson. Portrait of a First Lady. OPB. retried from  https://www.pbs.org/ladybird/shattereddreams/shattereddreams_report.html

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