Eyes Wide Open

One of Oklahoma’s Congressmen sent an email asking people what they thought about the president’s policies. Did he really need to ask? Maybe he’s just trying to find out how many people are paying attention.

Sir, the stock market is in correction territory. Either the president is an idiot or he’s intentionally crashing the market so billionaires can scoop up what’s left on the cheap.

You know, I’m sure, unless you, too, weren’t paying attention, that the U.S. economy was strong when Trump took office. It recovered from the pandemic faster than any other developed country. Yes, there are inequities. Not everyone in our country thrives when the economy does. That is what needs to be addressed. Instead, we will have to deal with a faltering economy, faltering due to one man’s whims.

Our state officials are doing their best to steer education dollars to private schools, so we are already approaching dire straits here. What will Oklahoma do without federal education funding? Things aren’t looking good. Did you know that states that put the most money into education also have the highest median incomes? Cutting funding for education is not the way to make Oklahoma or America more prosperous.

Good people who do necessary work have lost their jobs, and the country is less efficient and more dangerous as a result. People who don’t believe in science have been put into positions to stop research and to spread falsehoods. Oklahoma suffered terrible losses during the pandemic. Are you going to stand by and let that happen again because of anti-science policies?

Oklahoma is under wildfire warnings. It’s March. It’s dry. The temperatures have been in the 80s, and the wind is swooping down the plains. When cities burn here, who will get the blame? I can make a good guess. Who will pay for the rebuilding?

Oklahoma depends on our robust petroleum industry, and it is doing well. We are also suffering from climate change. Getting rid of climate change policies might make it cheaper for some industries to do business, but at what cost?

Oh, and that 2½ billion gallons of water that Trump ordered to be released in California did not reach the fire zone. What it did, instead, was waste water that will be sorely needed during growing season. We are tired of his attention-getting stunts that do nothing to improve conditions anywhere.

I appreciate that at least one of our legislators had the nerve to ask how we feel about the president’s policies. I hope he’ll understand how dangerous the policies are to the wellbeing of his constituents and that he’ll stand up for us instead of cowering before the would-be king.

And one more thing: Oklahomans love the National Weather Service. It is in no one’s interest, including yours, to take an axe to something that every Oklahoman depends on.