Trains are often part of the landscape, especially when traveling outside the US. From bullet trains in Japan to the Glacier Express in Switzerland to the Welsh Highland steam engine train that runs through Snowdonia National Park, traveling by train is a wonderful way to experience new places. When embarking on a train journey, I always double and triple check that I have my ticket, that I am getting on the right train, and that it is going where I want go.
The times we are living through get more difficult every day. Maybe it feels like a roller coaster ride rather than a train ride. But using the train analogy, we would never get on a train we did not know where it was going, would we?
It appears we did. And the train has left the station.
The democracy of this American republic is a train wreck waiting to happen. Or perhaps it has already crashed. The November election installed a party that promised to bring down food prices and inflation, to deport (only) violent criminal immigrants, to stop current wars, and to not create new wars. It has not kept its promises. Instead, this administration has launched initiative after initiative to intentionally destroy our democracy, including our rights and our freedoms, and to install an autocracy in its place.
Many of those who voted for this regime believe the system is rigged against them. Indeed, it is. The political and economic systems are rigged against anyone who is not a billionaire, whether they are MAGA or not. And the gulf between the “haves” and the “have nots” continues to grow wider. Perhaps we can find common ground here. But crossing the proverbial aisle, however, is difficult because the culture wars have artificially divided us. The oligarchs are playing us against each other, just like the Southern slaveowners did when they kept poor whites and Black slaves from uniting against them because they were afraid of being outnumbered and losing their power. Racism continues to undergird the inequality and fuels the hate that further divides us.
Knowing this nation’s history so we do not repeat its mistakes is important. Before the founding of this country, there was racial discrimination and violence against Indigenous Americans and African slaves which continues against their descendants, extends to immigrants and the trans community, and permeates our society today.
During the last 40 years, policies, especially tax policies, have enabled the wealthy to gain more power and money, shifting wealth from the middle and working classes to the wealthy, thus widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Trickle-down economics (aka Reaganomics) allowed the rich to get richer at the expense of the poor through tax cuts to the wealthy. Tax cuts since then by other Republican presidents have widened the wealth gap. Over the past 40 years, $50 trillion in wealth has transferred to the top 0.1% from the bottom 90%. Just in the last 10 years, the top 1% have increased their wealth by $33.9 trillion. All of this means that workers have lost ground over time. For example, workers in the bottom 90%, on average, have lost over $1,100 in wages every month, every year. To put a finer point on it, someone making a median salary of $36,000 today loses out on $28,000 of additional annual wages. This loss of income coupled with rising costs of living squeezes the middle and working classes today.
In addition, over the past 40 years, the racist “welfare queen” trope influenced those in power to cut back on entitlement programs which hurt the poor. Unbridled capitalism allowed corporations to succeed at the expense of the consumer and the environment. Only the wealthy and corporations have benefited under this system. It is no wonder people are disenchanted with the “American dream” and stressed over job opportunities and finances.
Propaganda from within the US and through foreign interference has radicalized people who felt cheated by the system to vote for a savior-would be-dictator. The divisiveness promoted by his party is a divide-and-conquer strategy, fueled by racism, hate, and fear, that created polarization over issues that did not matter so the oligarchs could win and take away our rights, freedoms, and power. These oligarchs do not believe in democracy: they believe poor people are parasites and they believe they (the oligarchs) deserve to rule. It is pure greed at work. Except it is not pure.
Greed of power, greed of money, greed of narcissistic adulation. These oligarchs are the goats - not the greatest of all time - but the ones, in the parable of the king, Jesus places on his left, the ones who did for themselves, not for the least of these. At the end of the track, they will find their reward of eternal condemnation. (See Matthew 25:41-43, 45-46*)
In the meantime, it is not enough to say what we are against. We also must articulate what we are for. We must elect politicians who will work to restore democracy at federal, state, and local levels of government. In addition, laws need to be established that undo the policies of this oligarchy so democracy can be resuscitated.
Maybe the part of the government that should experience a train wreck is the electoral college; if abolished, voters directly elect the president with a simple majority. Drawing congressional districts by nonpartisan experts allows better representation in the US House. Creating term limits for Supreme Court justices keeps our highest court relevant to the electorate and allows each president to have the same number of appointees. Passing campaign finance laws that limit the contributions a candidate can accept levels the playing field for all candidates. Restoring the Voting Rights Act allows for a functioning democracy. Promoting truth and trust in the news cycle discredits lies and propaganda.
If a healthy democracy can thrive, the quality of life for those who are not wealthy has a chance to improve. Instead of cutting budgets for Medicaid and for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), we create a government-provided healthcare system for all Americans (like all other wealthy nations have) and provide programs to ensure no child in the US goes hungry. Creating a fair tax system starts to close the wealth gap. Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage, providing training for higher paying jobs, removing roadblocks to build more and affordable housing, and creating a viable path to citizenship would increase the quality of life for “we the people.”
Opportunities for advancement, enough money to provide for our families, affordable healthcare and housing are issues most people can agree are important to all of us. If only we had a system that worked for "we the people." And just for the record, “we the people” does not mean only rich white men.
The way to restore democracy and to improve the quality of life for Americans requires us to stand up to the oligarchs and their leader. Now. Before it is too late.
On June 14, the same day as $45 million of our tax dollars promoted a paltry show of military force in a particular parade in DC, over 5 million people peacefully protested a would-be king. Many more supported those rallies even if they did not attend. According to Erica Chenoweth at the Harvard-Kennedy Center’s Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights, it takes a movement of only 3.5% of a population standing against a government to bring it down. The US population is currently at 342 million so we need at least 12 million to stand up for democracy in order to bring about change. We the People can change this corrupt and unfair system. We can restore democracy. We can create a better world. We can turn this train around. I think we can, I think we can…
*Matthew 25:41-43, 45-46: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’…’Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
NOTE: As of this writing, the US Senate has just passed their version of the "Big, Beautiful" tax bill which permanently extends the 2017 tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations. This will continue gutting the middle and working classes' wealth and shift it to the top 1%. Please call or email your representatives in Congress to express your opposition to this bill. This version goes back to the US House for approval. (There are other provisions that should be resisted as well.) If you hear the bill only costs $442 billion, please be aware that this cost calculation EXCLUDES the cost of the tax cuts on the grounds that they are merely an extension of the 2017 tax cuts. (This is like a business owner saying they do not have to budget salaries and benefits for employees who are already hired! Who does that??) The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculates the tax cuts to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
To pay for these tax cuts, this bill also includes almost $1 trillion cuts to Medicaid that would, according to the CBO, knock 11.8 million people off their health insurance. Because Medicaid also pays for long-term care in skilled nursing facilities, these draconian cuts mean that not only could long-term care patients lose their care and residence, but nursing facilities who have a large proportion of Medicaid patients could lose enough funding that they would have to shutter, creating havoc for families who depend on this care, even if the patient is not a Medicare recipient. Rural hospitals could likewise close without Medicaid funding. Employment in these facilities would also be impacted. Often in rural areas, the hospital is the largest employer. It is estimated that more than 50,000 Americans will die because of these budget cuts. The impact of this bill is far-reaching and disastrous. Members of Congress who vote for this bill, who approve of shifting wealth to the wealthy and gutting health insurance and SNAP, need to be held accountable; they do not deserve to lead this country. Vote them out in 2026.
Text and photograph copyright © 2025 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of train tracks in Hastings, New Zealand.
Not a subscriber to the monthly blog posts? Click here to subscribe. Subscribers receive an email each month that includes the post with the lead photo as well as bonus photos not posted on the website. Email addresses are never sold or shared.
A NOTE ON SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Jesus says the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37-40). The Christian faith boils down to these two precepts.
Social justice puts that love into action by helping individuals who are oppressed, mistreated, or suffering, and by pursuing ways to dismantle systems of oppression. How we treat others, particularly those less powerful in society than ourselves, matters (Matthew 25:31-46).
Racial justice is one aspect of social justice. Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
The times we are living through get more difficult every day. Maybe it feels like a roller coaster ride rather than a train ride. But using the train analogy, we would never get on a train we did not know where it was going, would we?
It appears we did. And the train has left the station.
The democracy of this American republic is a train wreck waiting to happen. Or perhaps it has already crashed. The November election installed a party that promised to bring down food prices and inflation, to deport (only) violent criminal immigrants, to stop current wars, and to not create new wars. It has not kept its promises. Instead, this administration has launched initiative after initiative to intentionally destroy our democracy, including our rights and our freedoms, and to install an autocracy in its place.
Many of those who voted for this regime believe the system is rigged against them. Indeed, it is. The political and economic systems are rigged against anyone who is not a billionaire, whether they are MAGA or not. And the gulf between the “haves” and the “have nots” continues to grow wider. Perhaps we can find common ground here. But crossing the proverbial aisle, however, is difficult because the culture wars have artificially divided us. The oligarchs are playing us against each other, just like the Southern slaveowners did when they kept poor whites and Black slaves from uniting against them because they were afraid of being outnumbered and losing their power. Racism continues to undergird the inequality and fuels the hate that further divides us.
Knowing this nation’s history so we do not repeat its mistakes is important. Before the founding of this country, there was racial discrimination and violence against Indigenous Americans and African slaves which continues against their descendants, extends to immigrants and the trans community, and permeates our society today.
During the last 40 years, policies, especially tax policies, have enabled the wealthy to gain more power and money, shifting wealth from the middle and working classes to the wealthy, thus widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Trickle-down economics (aka Reaganomics) allowed the rich to get richer at the expense of the poor through tax cuts to the wealthy. Tax cuts since then by other Republican presidents have widened the wealth gap. Over the past 40 years, $50 trillion in wealth has transferred to the top 0.1% from the bottom 90%. Just in the last 10 years, the top 1% have increased their wealth by $33.9 trillion. All of this means that workers have lost ground over time. For example, workers in the bottom 90%, on average, have lost over $1,100 in wages every month, every year. To put a finer point on it, someone making a median salary of $36,000 today loses out on $28,000 of additional annual wages. This loss of income coupled with rising costs of living squeezes the middle and working classes today.
In addition, over the past 40 years, the racist “welfare queen” trope influenced those in power to cut back on entitlement programs which hurt the poor. Unbridled capitalism allowed corporations to succeed at the expense of the consumer and the environment. Only the wealthy and corporations have benefited under this system. It is no wonder people are disenchanted with the “American dream” and stressed over job opportunities and finances.
Propaganda from within the US and through foreign interference has radicalized people who felt cheated by the system to vote for a savior-would be-dictator. The divisiveness promoted by his party is a divide-and-conquer strategy, fueled by racism, hate, and fear, that created polarization over issues that did not matter so the oligarchs could win and take away our rights, freedoms, and power. These oligarchs do not believe in democracy: they believe poor people are parasites and they believe they (the oligarchs) deserve to rule. It is pure greed at work. Except it is not pure.
Greed of power, greed of money, greed of narcissistic adulation. These oligarchs are the goats - not the greatest of all time - but the ones, in the parable of the king, Jesus places on his left, the ones who did for themselves, not for the least of these. At the end of the track, they will find their reward of eternal condemnation. (See Matthew 25:41-43, 45-46*)
In the meantime, it is not enough to say what we are against. We also must articulate what we are for. We must elect politicians who will work to restore democracy at federal, state, and local levels of government. In addition, laws need to be established that undo the policies of this oligarchy so democracy can be resuscitated.
Maybe the part of the government that should experience a train wreck is the electoral college; if abolished, voters directly elect the president with a simple majority. Drawing congressional districts by nonpartisan experts allows better representation in the US House. Creating term limits for Supreme Court justices keeps our highest court relevant to the electorate and allows each president to have the same number of appointees. Passing campaign finance laws that limit the contributions a candidate can accept levels the playing field for all candidates. Restoring the Voting Rights Act allows for a functioning democracy. Promoting truth and trust in the news cycle discredits lies and propaganda.
If a healthy democracy can thrive, the quality of life for those who are not wealthy has a chance to improve. Instead of cutting budgets for Medicaid and for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), we create a government-provided healthcare system for all Americans (like all other wealthy nations have) and provide programs to ensure no child in the US goes hungry. Creating a fair tax system starts to close the wealth gap. Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage, providing training for higher paying jobs, removing roadblocks to build more and affordable housing, and creating a viable path to citizenship would increase the quality of life for “we the people.”
Opportunities for advancement, enough money to provide for our families, affordable healthcare and housing are issues most people can agree are important to all of us. If only we had a system that worked for "we the people." And just for the record, “we the people” does not mean only rich white men.
The way to restore democracy and to improve the quality of life for Americans requires us to stand up to the oligarchs and their leader. Now. Before it is too late.
On June 14, the same day as $45 million of our tax dollars promoted a paltry show of military force in a particular parade in DC, over 5 million people peacefully protested a would-be king. Many more supported those rallies even if they did not attend. According to Erica Chenoweth at the Harvard-Kennedy Center’s Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights, it takes a movement of only 3.5% of a population standing against a government to bring it down. The US population is currently at 342 million so we need at least 12 million to stand up for democracy in order to bring about change. We the People can change this corrupt and unfair system. We can restore democracy. We can create a better world. We can turn this train around. I think we can, I think we can…
*Matthew 25:41-43, 45-46: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’…’Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
NOTE: As of this writing, the US Senate has just passed their version of the "Big, Beautiful" tax bill which permanently extends the 2017 tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations. This will continue gutting the middle and working classes' wealth and shift it to the top 1%. Please call or email your representatives in Congress to express your opposition to this bill. This version goes back to the US House for approval. (There are other provisions that should be resisted as well.) If you hear the bill only costs $442 billion, please be aware that this cost calculation EXCLUDES the cost of the tax cuts on the grounds that they are merely an extension of the 2017 tax cuts. (This is like a business owner saying they do not have to budget salaries and benefits for employees who are already hired! Who does that??) The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculates the tax cuts to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
To pay for these tax cuts, this bill also includes almost $1 trillion cuts to Medicaid that would, according to the CBO, knock 11.8 million people off their health insurance. Because Medicaid also pays for long-term care in skilled nursing facilities, these draconian cuts mean that not only could long-term care patients lose their care and residence, but nursing facilities who have a large proportion of Medicaid patients could lose enough funding that they would have to shutter, creating havoc for families who depend on this care, even if the patient is not a Medicare recipient. Rural hospitals could likewise close without Medicaid funding. Employment in these facilities would also be impacted. Often in rural areas, the hospital is the largest employer. It is estimated that more than 50,000 Americans will die because of these budget cuts. The impact of this bill is far-reaching and disastrous. Members of Congress who vote for this bill, who approve of shifting wealth to the wealthy and gutting health insurance and SNAP, need to be held accountable; they do not deserve to lead this country. Vote them out in 2026.
Text and photograph copyright © 2025 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of train tracks in Hastings, New Zealand.
Not a subscriber to the monthly blog posts? Click here to subscribe. Subscribers receive an email each month that includes the post with the lead photo as well as bonus photos not posted on the website. Email addresses are never sold or shared.
A NOTE ON SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Jesus says the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37-40). The Christian faith boils down to these two precepts.
Social justice puts that love into action by helping individuals who are oppressed, mistreated, or suffering, and by pursuing ways to dismantle systems of oppression. How we treat others, particularly those less powerful in society than ourselves, matters (Matthew 25:31-46).
Racial justice is one aspect of social justice. Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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