America, America, America

Oh, America, what have you done? I'm not talking specifically about the election of Donald Trump. No, that's the disease that infects America going into its terminal stage. I'm talking about what has led us to this moment.  For most of my adulthood I have been advocating the destruction of the two party system in America because every election more and more people have been voting for the lesser of two evils, and we were finally left with Clinton vs. Trump...two of the most hated people in America were suddenly running for president. If we would have destroyed the two party system in the days of Perot or Nader, we wouldn't have been in this position. The democrats would have nominated someone that democrats could actually believe in and the republicans would have nominated someone that republicans could actually believe in, and the third, fourth, and fifth parties (whoever they might have been) could have put up people that they actually believe in.
Instead, we were left with democrats hating themselves for voting for Clinton and republicans hating themselves for voting for Trump, and the truth is, most of the people that voted for either of these candidates actually were not voting for them, but rather voting against their opponents. How can that possibly be a good way to choose a president? With more candidates in all elections, there are more opportunities for real CHOICE.
What's done is done. We have what we have, and I can honestly say that the future terrifies me...somewhat for myself, but more for my kids and friends. Trump has advocated hate against anyone that isn't white and Christian. I may be white, but I'm also an Atheist, and when it comes to religion, the only group that is hated more than Atheists in America is Muslims...so when the radical Christian Right (and I'm not talking about all Christians) deals with the Muslim "problem," where do you think their eyes will turn next?
Even worse, I have two bi-racial daughters. What kind of a world are these two girls going to have to live in simply because one of their parents was black? They didn't ask for that. It's not a choice, and yet they will face even more racism than they already do, and believe me, they do face it, especially living with two white parents.
My biggest fear is for my friends. I have many friends that are black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American. When the radical white folk that Trump is stirring up go looking for victims, where do you think they're going to look?
Although I do have a lot of friends who are Christians, I also have a lot of friends who are Atheists, or Jewish, or Muslim.  The world got a lot darker for these people.
I also have many friends who are gay, many of whom recently got married, and now they could face having their marriages annulled by the government...talk about Big Brother. And let's remember that the scariness goes beyond Trump. It was Pence that was advocating jail time for gays that wanted to apply for a marriage license. Gay people in this country already face an enormous amount of prejudice, and it's only going to get worse. One of my very best friends is a trans-female. What kind of crap is she going to have to put up with because of what's coming? And again, it's not just Trump. Shortly after his inauguration he will be able to appoint a supreme court justice and with a republican congress, that person will almost certainly be approved, and I'm absolutely terrified that he's going to appoint his best buddy Rudy Giuliani. Can you imagine what the world will be like if he's allowed to rule on laws for the next decade or two? There's a man who's been drinking in the crazy Kool-Aid for far too long.
Something else we're probably facing is the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act. I know there are a lot of problems with it, but some good things have come out of it...such as the fact that insurance companies have to accept patients even with pre-existing conditions. I've never shopped the market for insurance. We get ours through Rebecca's work, and even though as a family of five with a low income, we actually could qualify for Medicaid, we've always chosen to have private insurance because the coverage is better and it allows us to keep our doctors (whom we love). We've made this choice even though it was a financial burden on us, because we felt the care was more important than the money. Note to some Republicans...not all poor people take "handouts."
If the insurance companies are allowed to go back to what they used to do, they could start denying pre-existing conditions. My chronic pain is a pre-existing condition, meaning that they could deny me my medications, and probably even deny me the surgery that I almost certainly need to correct the problem that is getting worse every day. Where will that leave me? No medication and no treatment available...I can't imagine how I'm possibly supposed to survive that. Even with medications, there are days when I wonder if it's worth it to continue on. If I can't get help, what choices will I have left?
America has survived a lot. It will most likely survive Trump, but will all Americans?