No ghosts or goblins

I asked various friends and relatives: “What is it that you find scary about the direction this country is headed? Their concerns fall loosely into two categories — cultural and political and include the following: 

Cultural

1). The kind of society my children and grandchildren are growing up in. 

2). The rich are getting richer and the poor and much of the middle class are losing out because so many of those in the top 1 percent obviously lack compassion for those in need and so are unwilling to part with a few more dollars for projects and programs that would make life better for all of us.

3). The drastic increase in gun violence — including mass murders that remind us of a Third World country.

4). The way so many schools are suffering from lack of funding and the exorbitant fees for college that keep so many young people (and their parents) in debt for so long.

5). The increasing addiction of especially our young people to Facebook, smartphones, etc. and the resulting obsession with self.

6). That we are fostering a culture of non-thinkers, non-questioners — a society of people who don’t question and explore anything — only do what is necessary to “move up,” “fit in,” “make a buck” or “pass the class.” (This from a university professor).

7). That the cultural values that underlie caring and community will continue to disintegrate, resulting in increased greed and disrespect for others. Joseph E. Stiglitz, author of “The Price of Inequality,” would agree. He writes: “Much that has gone on can be described by the words ‘moral deprivation.’ Something wrong happened to the moral compass of so many people working in the financial sector and elsewhere. When the norms of society change in a way that so many have lost their moral compass, it says something significant about the society.”

Politics

1). That Trump will continue to govern in his egotistical, dysfunctional presidential incursion.

2). “It is outright scary to see how gullible and easily fooled Trump supporters are. They believe whatever he says, no matter how distorted, dishonest, untruthful or deceptive.”

3). That the Supreme Court is loaded with more conservatives with ramifications for decades to come.

4). The president’s denial of increasing chemical pollution and global warming that contribute to the declining health of our planet and all of us — especially our children.

5). The huge and increasing national debt, the decreasing safety net for those less fortunate in our society and the fact that we will continue to be “the best government money can buy.”

6). The ongoing congressional stalemates that prevent progress on important issues.

7). As one friend wrote: “That we don’t know what will happen next — what decisions the president is going to make and what the (blank) he is thinking.”

If the November election turns out the way many have predicted, the concerns of family and friends will increase. We’re concerned that our democracy will suffer more with a Republican controlled Congress and Supreme Court and if Trump gets re-elected for a second term in 2020. These politicians will resist, for instance, any proposal to raise taxes on the top 1 percent to fund important and necessary programs that keep education, health care, infrastructure repair, social programs, etc. at an adequate level.

Add Robert Reich to the frightened. In his book, “Beyond Outrage,” he laments: “I have never been as concerned as I am now about the future of our democracy, the corrupting effects of big money in our politics, the stridency and demagoguery of the regressive right and the accumulation of wealth and power at the very top. We are perilously close to losing an economy and a democracy that are meant to work for everyone and to replacing them with an economy and government that will exist mainly for a few wealthy and powerful people.”

Yes, thinking about the future can be very scary. Witches, goblins and ghosts can’t even compete.

Since 1984, Dorothy Dimitre has written more than 950 columns for various local newspapers. Her email address is gramsd@aceweb.com.