I worry about cutbacks to both Medicare, and to Medicaid at the state level. I have been receiving Social Security Disability since 2005 due to pervasive mental illness. There have been many years that found me being hospitalized several times for either severe depression or mania due to my bipolar disorder. Because of that, and my severe OCD, I am unable to work. It is only in recent years that I have experienced any level of stability. I worry about what will happen to me if social security is slashed. As it is, I currently make barely enough to live on from month to month.
As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I fear that the rights for same-sex marriage could be stripped away. What seemed like a beginning to moving in the direction of acceptance and recognition of the same rights for members of this community, as for all others, now seems to be going backwards. And although I am not transgender, it infuriates me that there is so much controversy and anger over what bathroom someone wants to use. I identify as lesbian and although I am not currently in a relationship, I want my right to marry another woman, if I so choose to, to be honored, recognized, and protected. I do feel that there is more open-mindedness and acceptance towards LGBTQIA+ individuals in our society, however in politics, this seems to be becoming more controversial again.
Women's rights are also going backwards. I was devastated by the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. When I was 18 years old, I was raped. When my period didn't come, I took a pregnancy test. Actually, I took 8 pregnancy tests, just to be sure. They were all positive. After a lot of thought, crying, and yes, praying, I made the very difficult decision to have an abortion. I was not ready to be a mother. Having children was never going to be a part of my life plan. I could not envision myself being able to carry the pregnancy to term as it would be a constant reminder of my horrific experience. So, I chose to terminate the pregnancy. I know that this is a very controversial issue and I'm not going to try to force anyone to believe a certain way; I'm just going to share my own beliefs. It is my opinion that each woman should have the right to make that decision for herself. Having safe, accessible medical care should be a right. This was not a decision that I made lightly and without great thought. Stripping women's healthcare away just isn't the answer, no matter what your personal beliefs are. Threatening doctors who perform abortions puts the lives of the women at stake. I can't believe that we find ourselves here again on this issue. I fear for the lives and safety of all women who find themselves struggling to make this decision.
There are so many other issues that I worry about - gun control and banning assault weapons, climate change and the health of our planet, banning books and trying to erase parts of our history and what we allow to be taught in our schools, children going to school hungry, homelessness, the way we care for our elders and our veterans, illegal immigration and border control, racism, foreign affairs, the war in the Middle East....the list goes on and on. Like I said at the beginning, I can't allow myself to spend too much time thinking about these issues because it feeds my depression and anxiety. I wish that I had hope for America, but right now, I don't know. I'm finding it so very hard to live in today and not worry about what tomorrow is going to hold. I don't like feeling so out of control. So, for now, I will do the next right thing for me and continue to pray. It's now after 4:00 a.m. I cannot do anything tonight. And when the time comes, I will vote.
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