As we begin the new year, the picture facing the American people has some bright spots—but it is also ominous. On the positive side, more and more people are organizing and fighting climate change, for better wages and working conditions, for health care, water, homes, justice, equality, voting rights, for a real democracy and against fascism, for peace—in short, for a government and society that will ensure the well-being of the Earth and its people.
On the other hand, although some decent people have been elected to public office here and there, the billionaires and corporations are still securely in control of the government at every level and in all branches, and the recent difficulty the U.S. House had electing a speaker shows that the far right will have real influence over the direction of legislation in that body. Many observers are predicting a nearly paralyzed federal government that will be unable to provide for people’s needs while military spending and subsidies to the rich will continue to skyrocket. The real governance of the country is being done by armies of corporate lobbyists, and the corporate-dominated Democratic Party is more and more proving to be useless in defending the people. The rich continue to grow more obscenely rich, while hunger, destitution and homelessness continue to grow among the people. The main answer of the government seems to be more militarized police and more prison cells for the poor. Meanwhile, the threat of a nuclear war intensifies.
We, the people, are in a fight for our lives, and we cannot let up. The struggle against corporate dictatorship and for democracy, peace, prosperity and equality will continue and grow, as it must. We will go through some dark times, but we keep our eyes on the prize and know that in the end we will win if we keep fighting and learning the lessons from both our victories and defeats.
