Sleepless nights

Another sleepless night worrying that this white supremacist president of ours will forever poison race relations in the US? Not to worry; race relations in this country have always been toxic, and politicians have always used fear and hatred to win elections.

Worried that the working class will end up losing everything, as our nation's richest people become kings and queens? That's been happening for 40 years, as corporations have taken control of almost every aspect of our government. The millions that businesses and the very rich give to politicians used to be called bribery. Thanks to recent Supreme Court decisions, such gifts are now considered freedom of speech.

We see that all the reforms that most working people really want are routinely rejected, like taxing the rich, universal healthcare, free college tuition, an end to wars in the Middle East, and holding Israel accountable for the occupation of Palestine. There is no real money behind any of these ideas, so even though most people favor them, they have no chance of being considered, even in the Democratic Platform.

The only reason to worry about Trump is that he represents the culmination of neoliberalism, the destruction of the common good by the huge corporations that rule us. Whether our next president is this dangerously unhinged demagogue, or a sleepy corporate shill, they will both serve the same plutocracy.

Yet change is happening in the streets, be it for LGBTQ, African American, or women's rights. The pressure for change always comes from below.

Fred Nagel