The Struggle for the Soul of America: Breaking America’s Gun Safety Gridlock

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A new strategy may be emerging to break the logjam on legislation for gun safety. In The Atlantic magazine, senior editor Gal Beckerman proposes students, parents, and teachers take “the next three months to mobilize” a national strike when school starts again demanding gun safety laws. During the summer vacation, “they could create thousands of local committees supporting the strike and decide on what the national demand might be—say, an assault-weapon ban.”[1]

Beckerman points to the student movement after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The Parkland students “built one of the most forceful movements around gun control to date…They also helped persuade Florida’s governor to sign a bill that raised the minimum age for purchasing a gun to 21 and extended the waiting period to three days.”[2]

Many unions were quick to denounce the shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers. American Federation of Teacher’s President Randi Weingarten, whose union has lost many members to gun violence, exclaimed, “Gun violence is cancer, and it’s one that none of us should tolerate for one single moment longer…We have made a choice to let this continue, and we can make a choice to finally do something—do anything—to put a stop to this madness.”[3]

Like most Americans, I am sickened by these school shootings as well as those in theaters, houses of worship and other public places. I agree with Weingarten that we can no longer tolerate this madness. But a national teachers’ strike is a big ask of public servants whose salaries do not often afford them the ability to build large bank accounts in reserve. Therefore, a fund to support striking teachers that many of us could support should be developed as soon as the organizing begins. (Note: This idea came from Margaret Lubalin, my editor/partner.)

With the help of the AFT and other unions, an extended national strike could be very effective. Hopefully, it would force Congress and state legislatures to act. With most Republicans opposing meaningful gun safety measures, it could also have a defining impact on some contested electoral races this November.

As momentum builds, the strike could be expanded to other issues as well. Whether it’s gun safety, abortion rights, voting rights or saving democracy itself, our country is at a dangerous stalemate. And let’s not forget the COVID pandemic and global warming.

Our nation is deeply divided on all these critical issues and at a loss as to what to do. Republicans blame the Democrats who control the government. They say elect them to run the country but have offered no sound solutions. Just recriminations and name-calling. They are obsessed with power and control. To them, their way is the only acceptable way. Democrats rightly respond that Republicans just obstruct any real effort to fix our problems.

The state of American politics is demoralizing and depressing. We once were better than this. A national strike for gun safety would be a big step forward toward bringing Americans of all persuasions together (over 90% want expanded background checks[4]) and making our country a healthier, safer place to live. The question is can we muster the strength and the will to overcome the gun lobby and its allies and find our way back to a more civil society before it’s too late.  Therein lies the struggle for the Soul of America.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/05/uvalde-school-shooting-gun-control-walkout/643120/

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://paydayreport.com/strikes-over-gun-control-erie-dc-teachers-went-on-strike-over-gun-control-weingarten-calls-for-action%EF%BF%BC/

[4] https://www.bradyunited.org/key-statistics?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4uaUBhC8ARIsANUuDjX4nlkbjeRY7qs1XkJePFdqdFrRdumlsGZbzF1N9xsOsBrY5-H8gWAaAmIjEALw_wcB

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Enough Is Enough!

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This past week we witnessed yet another senseless mass shooting in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Our nation grieves for all the victims of this terrible tragedy, as well as for their families, teachers and classmates.

We have allowed these horrific events to occur for way too long without demanding concrete efforts to prevent them. Enough is enough!

In April 1999, we were shocked when 12 students and a teacher were shot and killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO.[1] In just five months this year there have already been 27 school shootings.[2] The next one could be at your child’s or grandchild’s school. They are all at-risk.

Since 2009, there have been 274 mass shootings in the United States, resulting in 1536 people shot and killed and 983 people shot and wounded.[3] The next one could be in your shopping mall or movie theater. We are all at-risk and we must have solid solutions to this deadly epidemic now.

There are two things that have real power in American politics. One is money and the other is people. I wrote a whole book, Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America, on this topic several years ago. (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.) Given the most recent deadly shootings in Texas and Buffalo, New York, this issue is even more relevant today.

In the wake of these tragic events, the roles that both money and people play in dealing with gun violence in our country needs to be made clear to all Americans.

First, how effective is money in influencing public policy on gun control? In my book, I wrote:

“Though 92 percent of Americans want universal background checks for people purchasing guns, our elected officials’ personal ambitions override the public interest and dictate their political actions.”[4]

From 2000 to 2013, the gun lobby, which includes the National Rifle Association (NRA), the firearms industry, and the Gun Owners of America, has contributed a combined $81 million to congressional and presidential election campaigns to defeat gun control measures.[5] The gun lobby’s investment paid off when the Republican Congress refused to renew the ban on assault weapons after it expired in 2004.[6]

Back then, the U.S. senators who received the most campaign contributions from the gun lobby were Republicans like Roy Blunt (R-MO), who received $2.6 million from the NRA during his 2010 campaign, and Ron Johnson (R-WI), $1.2 million from the NRA.[7]

It’s no different today. The top 10 Senate recipients of NRA contributions are all Republicans. Leading the pack is Mitt Romney (R-UT) with over $13 million. Roy Blunt is still up there at number 3 with over $4.5 million. Number 10 is Bill Cassidy (R-LA) with a still sizeable $2.8 million.

When it comes to gun control policy, Republican senators choose taking money from the gun lobby over protecting American lives.

So, what about we, the people’s effect on gun control policy? The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) is comprised of 47 national organizations working to reduce gun violence. Its coalition members include religious organizations, child welfare advocates, public health professionals, and social justice organizations.[8] However, their noble efforts have not borne much fruit.

Since the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Congress has not passed a universal background check statute or any other meaningful legislation to deal with the issue of gun violence in our country.[9]

How to get sensible gun control laws passed? We have to elect pro-gun control candidates and vote those gun lobby-dominated Republican senators out of office. While that will not be easy with all the campaign money they receive, the power of the people to force change can be formidable. Consider the Women’s movement and the Civil Rights movement.

According to the latest poll following the most recent Texas and Buffalo shootings, 65% of Americans support stricter gun control laws.[10]

We must make gun control a top issue in this year’s elections. Republican senators like Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) are vulnerable on this as well as the other hot-button issue of abortion rights. Open seats in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio are winnable by pro-gun control Democrats as well.

We need to protect our children as well as all Americans. The best way to do that now is to get involved in this year’s election campaigns. We must make sure that the great majority of Americans who support gun control vote in November. It’s up to all of us to make that happen.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/columbine-high-school-shootings

[2] https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1101050970/2022-school-shootings-so-far

[3] https://everytownresearch.org/maps/mass-shootings-in-america/

[4] Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America, p. 24 (Santa Fe, NM: Our Time Books, 2016)

[5] Ibid, p. 23

[6] https://www.npr.org/2019/08/13/750656174/the-u-s-once-had-a-ban-on-assault-weapons-why-did-it-expire

[7] Ibid, pp. 23-24

[8] https://www.csgv.org/

[9] Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America, p. 23

[10] https://morningconsult.com/2022/05/26/support-for-gun-control-after-uvalde-shooting/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: The Future of Our Nation in Hands of a New Generation

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This week my daughter graduates from UC Berkeley with a Master’s in Social Work. I couldn’t be prouder of her.

I want to say to her and to all those students graduating across the country: Congratulations! You’ve worked hard and achieved an important milestone. Your family and friends are very proud of you. I hope you are feeling immense gratification and delight in what you’ve accomplished. Pause for a moment to take it all in.

This is a time for reflection on how far you’ve come, as well as exploring what’s next. With the completion of your education, you are about to make your way in the world. This can be both difficult and exciting. Starting a career. Finding the right job. Deciding where to live. So much to consider.

Like everyone else, you will not be making these decisions in a vacuum. We live in extremely challenging times. In making your choices, you may have to take into account issues previous graduates have not had to consider: the state of the pandemic, major inflation and the rising cost of housing, climate change, the challenge to reproductive rights and more.

But there is one additional thing I urge you to think deeply about, and that is, the future of your country. Decades before you were born, a young, newly elected president, John F. Kennedy, in his 1961 inaugural address challenged all Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”[1]

Now more than ever, your country needs you. Your country has given you the opportunity to obtain a good education among many other advantages. And you alone will decide how to use them in your life.

At the same time, there is a very dark cloud hanging over our nation. It threatens all of us who believe in American democracy. That murky shadow is autocracy, and it imperils the freedoms and justice so many Americans have fought and died for.

Today we are seeing how destructive authoritarianism can be in Putin’s war on Ukraine. Here at home, we are experiencing this autocratic scourge from book-banning campaigns to laws restricting voting rights and eliminating reproductive rights. Most devastating was the January 6th attack on our Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the peaceful transfer of power. This coup was an affront to the most basic principles our nation founded on.

Though it was not of your making, you are now on the frontlines of an epic battle to save our democracy. Whatever you are planning to do as you begin your careers may very well be disrupted or even wiped out by an authoritarian, white supremacist government that could be in our country’s future.

That is why this November’s elections, and the 2024 election are so vital to the survival of our democracy. I urge you all to step up and get actively involved in them. Now is the time to take a stand. You, who are the future of our country, hold the nation’s fate in your hands.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

(P.S. Since I will be at my daughter’s graduation, I won’t be publishing a blog next week, but will be back the following week.)

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-john-f-kennedys-inaugural-address

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Living on the Brink

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It’s been eight days since police banged on my door in the middle of the night ordering me and my Mineral Hill neighbors to evacuate. Since then, like many other evacuees, I’ve been nervously watching the online daily briefings which describe the efforts being made by fifteen hundred courageous firefighters to contain the raging firestorm that has now engulfed 175,000 acres of northeast New Mexico.

Friday several of us drove back to our country homes to salvage valuable belongings before the fire could consume them. We all wore masks to protect us from the irritating smoke that filled the air. Given the predictions of dangerously high winds beginning the next day and lasting for possibly a week, it appeared likely to be our last chance to save what we could before the fire might come sweeping through our valley. There was no time to lose.

While I anxiously wait to see whether the fire will spare my home, I can’t help thinking about the thousands of New Mexicans who have already lost everything. Many have found refuge in shelters in Las Vegas, Glorieta and elsewhere. Some are living in their vehicles. All are devastated and just want to go home.

Unfortunately, as of Saturday, May 7, the fire was only 21% contained. It will be weeks or months, in some cases even longer, before people can go back to their properties and restore or rebuild their homes. Some without insurance may never be able to do that. But none of us will ever forget this life-altering experience.

Yet could there be a silver lining to this catastrophe? People are coming together to aid each other and help those in need get through this tragedy. My little Mineral Hill community has been in constant contact providing mutual support. Saturday evening, we got together for pizza, beer, and mutual commiseration. We shared our feelings, memories and hopes for a brighter tomorrow.

This devastating fire has brought us closer together. It’s given me a deeper insight into the value and importance of community. I know that there are people I can count on when I need them. And they know they can count on me as well. It’s a special feeling. Ironically, that which is life-shattering can often be life-affirming as well.

Additionally, when disaster strikes close to home, it can be a wake-up call. It is an opportunity for us to re-examine what is truly valuable in our lives. We may desire successful careers, nicer clothes or expensive cars, but what really matters the most in life is good friends, community and family.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Sound the Alarm!

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I read the papers and watch the news on TV, but never thought it could happen to me. Then, suddenly, it does.

Friday evening close to midnight, police cars, lights flashing and sirens blasting, came barreling down my quiet country road and up my driveway, 75 miles northeast of Santa Fe. An officer banged on my door and told me I had to evacuate my home. It’s not safe. The raging wildfire that’s already consumed over 100,000 acres and 150-plus homes was just over the hill to the north. I had to leave now before it was too late.

Along with most of my neighbors, I quickly packed my car with family photos, clothes and whatever else I could squeeze in. I left the doors unlocked and my gate opened for the firefighters in case they were able to come and save my home from the uncontrolled firestorm. It was 2:30 in the morning by the time I arrived exhausted at my partner’s home in Santa Fe. 

Now I just sit and wait. Nervously checking online several times a day (See https://www.facebook.com/santafeNF/videos/675228177042752) to learn if the monstrous fire has destroyed my home. There’s nothing else I can do. A friend from across the way tried to get back up to her house yesterday, but the road was blocked off for our own safety. All we can do is pray that our homes are somehow spared.

I am so grateful for the one thousand firefighters giving their all to suppress the fire. I can’t imagine what they are going through. I read online that they don’t expect to have the fire fully contained until the end of July, three months from now. How many more acres and homes will be destroyed by then? It’s mind-boggling and depressing.

I am also very angry. I’m furious that myself and millions of my fellow Americans have been put in such a catastrophic state when it didn’t have to be this way. Climate experts have been warning us about the dangers of global warming since the late 1950s. In 1988 scientists and politicians from around the world gathered at the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere to address the threat to the Earth’s atmosphere from greenhouse gas emissions. “By the 1990s, most scientists thought action was necessary, but opposition from fossil fuel companies and ideologists opposed to any government action were effective in obscuring the facts and blocking action,” according to Spencer Weart, retired director of the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics.[1]

The Southwest is in a megadrought. A recent study in the journal Nature Climate Change found that “the last 22 years now rank as the driest such period since at least 800 AD.”[2] Human-caused climate change is a major factor driving this megadrought. Yet, our government has failed to respond to this crisis with the urgency and magnitude it requires.[3]

Call the White House (202-456-1111) and your senators and representative (202-224-31-21). Demand that they take immediate action to pass the strongest possible climate change legislation. Our lives and the survival of the planet are at stake.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.livescience.com/humans-first-warned-about-climate-change

[2] https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2022/02/14/megadrought-in-southwest-is-now-the-worst-in-at-least-1200-years-study-confirms/

[3] https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/earth-day-biden-climate-policy/507-bf749989-3546-4735-b1fc-4353c01a7b14

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can We Learn from the Wildfires?

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Friday afternoon my friend John and I helped another friend evacuate his home to escape the wildfires raging in northern New Mexico. As I carried a few of the precious belongings he wished to save from the house to his SUV, I saw the billowing dark smoke ominously rising in the distant sky.

We had no idea how long it would take before the fire might engulf his home. But he could not wait to find out. He knew he must leave while he still could. It was truly a harrowing experience.

Later that evening another friend called John. She said the smoke at her home was making it difficult to breathe. Could she and her son seek refuge at John’s place? Their car packed with their most valued possessions, they arrived at John’s around 10 p.m. that night. Tragically, they had to leave their horses behind.

Both John’s home and my home are 25 miles or more west of the wildfires. Since the winds are blowing northeasterly, we do not appear to be in any danger. But those winds are wicked. While assisting our friend’s evacuation, gusts must have reached 60 mph at times. There’s no guarantee they won’t turn around and put us in harm’s way.

All this makes me stop in my tracks and rethink our current state. What could be more valued than a good friend willing to drop everything and come to your rescue at a perilous time? What could be more precious than a supportive community working together to save people’s homes from a deadly fire?

Yet, our political culture tends to distance us from neighbors with contrary views. Rather than seeking common ground to work on together, we try to overcome those who see things differently than we do. Just think how much better off our country would be if Democrats and Republicans, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy, could work together for the common good of all Americans.

It can and does happen. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act which promotes online competition has broad bipartisan support. The bill would prevent the biggest platforms, such as Google and Facebook, from giving themselves an advantage over smaller competitors. The GOP joined the Democrats in supporting this legislation which prohibits big tech firms like Amazon from giving its in-house branded products a leg-up over other brands when someone is shopping on its site. Instead of backing their big business allies as they usually do, Republicans put the interests of the American people in fair competition first.[1]

But fires are not only erupting in our forests. In state houses across the country as well as in the halls of Congress, our politicians are throwing verbal fireballs at each other. If we are to rescue our democracy from these overheated partisan flames, this needs to stop. We need to find a way to reach well-meaning Americans with divergent views to lower the temperature and work together for the common good without sacrificing our values. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act is a step in the right direction.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.wired.com/story/american-innovation-choice-online-act-antitrust-google-amazon/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can Our Broken Democracy Be Fixed?

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This past weekend Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. At the same time, Jews were commemorating the liberation of their ancestors from Egyptian bondage. Together the Easter and Passover holidays raise a profound question for all Americans in these troubling times:

Can we liberate ourselves from the growing anti-democratic movement in our nation and resurrect our dying democracy?

Honestly, I am not very optimistic. Afterall, our political leaders seem much more interested in gaining and maintaining power than they are in solving our country’s problems. This is particularly true on the right. As I noted in my last blog, “with few exceptions the Republicans have been total naysayers and obstructionists.”[1]

So, what can we do? First, we must come to grips with the fact that we are in a fight for the very survival of democracy. We must press upon state and national Democratic leaders that this is the case and that they, along with us, must publicly stress that we are in this critical battle to save our democracy.

Second, we must call out by name the great many Republicans and the few Democrats who are blocking the effective functioning of our democracy. For instance, senators like Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, who opposed changing a rule that would have enabled the passage of the Freedom to Vote Act, guaranteeing the right to vote to all Americans.[2] And, the numerous Republicans who are acting to restrict the right to vote in many red states across the country.[3]

Third, we must hold Democrats’ feet to the fire. Voters need to be reassured that President Biden and his party understand their problems and are currently delivering effective solutions. Biden needs to fulfill his pledge to the 43 million Americans with student loan debt to cancel at least part, preferably all, of the $1.7 trillion student debt.[4] We must demand that he keep his promise and do it now.

Congressional Democrats have been trying unsuccessfully to pass Biden’s Build Back Better bill since last summer. Time is running out before November’s crucial elections. Sen. Manchin has been the primary holdout to adopting the legislation. Senate Democrats need to slim the bill down to its most popular provisions – reducing prescription drug prices, tax reforms, and climate investments – which they all can agree on.[5] We must strongly lobby our senators and representatives to adopt the bill immediately and get it on Biden’s desk.

Finally, Americans need to truly understand what putting Republicans in charge of Congress in November would mean. Given how obstructionist they have been as the Congressional minority, it is not difficult to imagine how Republicans could completely thwart any Biden initiative for the remainder of his term in office should they gain control of Congress. Most likely no progress would be made on voting rights, tax reform, prescription drug prices, healthcare, climate change or almost anything else the president might propose to assist most Americans.

So, it is up to you and me. Together we must make crystal clear what is at stake in the coming election. We must call out those who are working to destroy our democracy. And we must demand that our Democratic senators and representatives act now. If our nation is to be liberated from the growing anti-democratic movement in its midst and our dying democracy is to be resurrected, we are the ones who must make it happen.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog/

[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-rev-voting-rights-push-end-2021-senate-path-remains-n1286080#anchor-Aperfectstorm

[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/19-states-enacted-voting-restrictions-2021-rcna8342

[4] https://www.yahoo.com/news/more-since-biden-found-whether-102000786.html

[5] https://www.vox.com/2022/3/16/22955410/build-back-better-scenarios

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can We Beat the Odds and Save Our Democracy?

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I’m back. While it’s nice to get away, step out of my routine, and experience new adventures, more than ever I’m feeling that there’s no place like home. The comfort and security of one’s own home just can’t be beat.

At the same time, being away gave me a clearer, broader perspective on my life and the news of the day. In the coming weeks and months, I think you will see a somewhat different slant in my blog. Hopefully more personal and connected to our lives. So, here goes….

The odds are the Democrats will lose control of the House in the November elections. They could lose the Senate as well. Historically, the president’s party usually does poorly in midterm elections.[1]

While Washington politics seem far away from our everyday lives, we ignore what’s going on there at our own peril. Though the Democrats have not had an easy time of it, especially in terms of passing major bills in the Senate, they have significantly improved the lives of most Americans since taking control of the government a year ago January. Meanwhile, with few exceptions the Republicans have been total naysayers and obstructionists.

Take, for instance, the $1.9 trillion COVID Relief Bill Biden signed into law less than two months after taking office on January 20th of last year. Not one Republican supported that bill despite the dire needs of millions of Americans in the midst of the deadly pandemic. Among other benefits, the legislation provided $1,400 checks to millions of Americans including yours truly, extended unemployment benefits, increased the child tax credit, offered housing assistance to low-income Americans and expanded health care coverage.

Since then, the Biden administration has made significant progress in getting the pandemic under control. When he took office, the number of new cases averaged close to 200,000 a day. Now it’s less than 30,000 per day.[2] While almost one million Americans have died from COVID 19, the weekly death rate is now down to under 500.[3] Though there is more work to be done to overcome the virus and protect American lives, Senate Republicans are now blocking a $10 billion bill to continue the fight against COVID 19.[4]

Safeguarding our democracy is another critical area where Republicans have tried to obstruct Democrats’ efforts. Senate Democrats proposed an independent commission of experts, like the 911 commission, to investigate the January 6th insurrection. Senate Republicans blocked its creation fearing “the political damage that could come from scrutiny of the storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob…”[5] Instead, the House Select Committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, which Republicans also opposed, has become a political football. While Democrats want to shield our democracy from further assault, most Republicans downplay the deadly insurrection and continue to support the undermining of our democracy by Trump and his lies about the 2020 election.[6] If we sit back and allow right-wing Republicans to destroy our democracy, we will lose many of our precious rights and privileges guaranteed by the Constitution.

The country’s economy is yet another field where Democrats have advanced the nation’s position while Republicans ignore the facts and falsely rebut progress. “The economy created more than a stunning 6.6 million jobs in 2021 — more than the first three years of Donald Trump’s term combined — as the unemployment rate experienced the fastest one-year drop on record.”[7] Meanwhile, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel argues that the Biden economic recovery plan “is not working!”[8] Once again, Republican propaganda is blurring American voters’ ability to see what’s really going on.

Most recently, President Biden’s Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, soon to be the first black woman justice on the court, was confirmed with minimal Republican support. Forty-seven Republican senators voted against her confirmation despite her universally recognized qualifications for the position.[9] Fortunately, Republican prejudice and thirst for power failed to win the day.

Except for inflation and related issues – an essential piece of the puzzle Democrats are still working on — Americans strongly support Democratic positions on these matters.[10] But the Republican propaganda machine is very effective in persuading voters. We cannot let them continue to distort the facts and con the voters.

It is up to all of us to help get the truth out to our fellow Americans before this year’s critical November elections. While I find the state of our nation’s politics pretty depressing, I know how critical these elections are. Like many of you, I am fed up, but I am not willing to give up. American democracy is too vital to our way of life.

I urge you to stand with the millions of Americans who care about the future of our nation.

Write letters to the editor! Support Democratic candidates! Join the fight to save our democracy!

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.vox.com/22899204/midterm-elections-president-biden-thermostatic-opinion

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html

[3] https://usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/

[4] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-relief-deal-senate-10-billion-republicans/

[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/us/politics/capitol-riot-commission.html

[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/us/politics/jan-6-capitol-riot-aftermath.html

[7] https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/biden-era-job-growth-good-gop-literally-speechless-rcna15144

[8] Ibid.

[9] https://news.yahoo.com/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-senate-vote-first-black-woman-181745296.html

[10] https://www.axios.com/poll-ketanji-brown-jackson-senate-supreme-court-38763a57-f656-44a5-939b-94443042abb1.html; https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/02/house-jan-6-committee-popular-republicans-526092;

The Struggle for the Soul of America: A View from Afar

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It’s another beautiful morning in paradise. I’m sitting alone on the beach in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Tiny waves create a recurring rhythm as they roll ashore just 20 feet in front of me while a gentle sea breeze embraces my entire body.

I feel very fortunate to be here, so calming and reassuring. At the same time, on the other side of our planet, Ukrainians are being mercilessly killed as they desperately attempt to save their homeland from a senseless Russian invasion. Many millions more are suffering all over the world from hunger, disease, natural disaster, and armed conflict.

In our own country, people are struggling to save democracy. The Democrats are having great difficulty providing what the vast majority of Americans want due to a recalcitrant minority who can’t or refuse to accept the core principles of our nation. They don’t get that universal forces have brought us together from all over the globe, a diverse people from many different countries, races, religions and backgrounds all yearning for the same thing: a better life with “liberty and justice for all.”

Unfortunately, Americans have very different ideas of what that means. Some people believe they have the liberty to do whatever they please regardless of the consequences that may impose on others. Donald Trump is the epitome of that way of thinking. On the other hand, other people feel that we are not free until all our fellow Americans are free.

Perhaps, an even bigger issue is how Americans are divided on the meaning and application of justice in our country:

Is it just for a security guard who shoots and kills an unarmed black teenager to go free because the guard had suspicions about the teenager’s activities?

Is it just for a few Americans to accumulate billions of dollars while many others live in poverty, a good number of them homeless?

As we saw on January 6, 2021, we are in the midst of an armed and deadly conflict over the very soul of our nation. Are all Americans brothers and sisters in one big, complex family? Or are we a huge conglomeration of individuals just in it for ourselves?

I think what really divides us is our fear of the other. Whether it’s the other gender, race, nationality, sexual preference or what have you. Those driven by their fear seek power. They want to control the ‘other’ to alleviate their own fear. It’s scary and depressing what they are willing to do to gain and maintain control. And it’s impossible to predict how this will all turn out.

With all that, I am fortunate to be able to take a ‘time out’ away from all the turmoil of our world. To see the broader picture from afar. I feel great gratitude for my stay in Puerto Rico. Most people do not have the time or resources for such luxury. So, with renewed vitality and vision, I’m ready to return to the real world and continue in the struggle for the soul of America.

At the same time, the ocean will keep on washing onto the shore, wave after wave after wave forever. And we are just a tiny moment in eternity.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Trouble in Paradise

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I’m in sunny Puerto Rico on vacation. The backdoor of our Airbnb is right on the beach. You would think how lucky I am. But the front door of our rental is on a very loud, busy road. The traffic noise wakes us early in the morning and makes it difficult falling asleep at night.

I shouldn’t complain, you say. Well, we’ve had a rough week. Last Sunday I drove through a small drainage ditch running across the road. I didn’t see it in time to slow down enough to avoid partly dislodging my left front bumper. I’ve made an appointment at a body shop to repair it next week.

On Monday I spent eleven hours with my partner in the ER. We went to the hospital because she was having very severe back pains. Turns out she has a kidney stone. The ER doc gave her pain medication and told her to drink lots of water. While the pain has subsided fortunately, she’s still waiting for the stone to pass. Meanwhile, she’s having trouble sleeping and her energy level is pretty low.

The next day I’m eating a cracker and a cap on a tooth on the lower left side of my mouth breaks. I’m not in pain, but I am having difficulty chewing on that side of my mouth. I’ve made an appointment with my dentist back in Santa Fe to replace it when we get home.

That’s the kind of week it’s been. Consequently, I haven’t been able to focus on my blog. So, I took this past week off. My daughter and her boyfriend arrive today. I think I won’t have time to write my blog this coming week either.

But once I recover from my vacation, I’ll get back to blogging with renewed vigor!

Meanwhile, I wish you all the best wherever you may be in these troubling times.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.