There are moments in history where our very soul as a nation is at stake. So to comes one of those moments in a small, middle eastern country called Yemen. Yemen is involved in a very complicated battle and the people of Yemen are caught between the competing countries of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Our support (military, intelligence, funding) has allowed Saudi Arabia to unleash an unconscionable war on the people of Yemen. Over 100,000 men, women and children have died from famine as Saudi Arabia continues to cut off access to food and medicine. Another 100,000 men, women and children have died in the from horrific military bombings and attacks aimed at civilians. On August 9, 2018 Saudi Arabian Military forces fired missiles at a school bus killing dozens of children. Although Saudi Arabia claims this was a mistake, it seems unlikely as the plan came back for a second bombing of the same bus. We, as a nation, cannot be apart of such horror.
On April 16, 2019 President Trump vetoed S.J. Res.7. This bill would end US involvement in this unjustifiable brutality. I would urge both houses of Congress to vote to override the veto. Our soul is at stake.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons”. I believe this to be true, but I also feel you can judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable: the disabled. The disabled in our country are forgotten. Assuming they are able to obtain Disability benefits, usually those benefits amount to about $1000.00 a month. It’s near impossible to survive on that little without disabilities and very often it is impossible with disabilities. The disabled are frequently put out of the public eye. We see them on the streets acting irrationally while carrying the burden of mental disabilities and without access to healthcare. We see them, limping and thin, questioning whether they can afford food that night. It is time to rescue them.
Rescue means increasing the amount of monetary benefits so the disabled don’t have to choose between housing and food. It means medicare for all. It means removing the pressures that burden judges to not grant disability benefits to “too many” applicants. It means shortening the time it takes to see a judge, when one has been denied benefits and is appealing, from years to months. Remember, an enormous portion of the disabled who are waiting on disability benefits are left to the streets without housing. It means acting civilized in our civilization.