Divided We Fall

On July 2, 2020, the CV Weekly published an article that I had written titled, “United We Stand?” that contained my thoughts about the state of the country as we approached the Independence Day holiday. Earlier that year, I had lost my son from an overdose of fentanyl, we were in the midst of the COVID shutdowns, there was mayhem in the streets across the country and everything in my universe felt dark and hopeless. And yet, somehow, I managed to keep it together and wrote about a future that had all of us coming together and making things better. What a nice dream. You can read it here https://www.crescentavalleyweekly.com/viewpoints/07/02/2020/views-valley-susan-bolan-16/.

Since that time, I have worked hard to move past the traumas of 2020 and have gained an increasing appreciation of what is important in life like family, friends and community.  Despite my positive energy, though, I have failed to make any impact in improving the country I love and find myself struggling with the current state of politics. Every day, I am perplexed by the amount of hostility exhibited in the media by our elected leaders, so angry with each other, that the pipe dream of working together has now become a thing of the past.  How sad that we have strayed so far from what our ancestors fought so hard to achieve. 

This tension in our national leadership has trickled down to the state and local level and we are seeing significant pushback between entities. The unfortunate results of this “us versus them” mentality are one-size-fits-all mandates, strict regulations, out-of-control tax and spending, increased crime and wasteful fraud. I find myself growing angry too from the housing bills coming from our Sacramento legislators that have activated YIMBY (“yes in my backyard”) activists against communities that simply don’t want dense development in their suburban neighborhoods when more sensible projects will do. I am also mad that our local leaders don’t seem to understand that they work for the people and continue to squander our hard-earned dollars without resolving even the most basic problems we face. I believe there has to be common ground on issues such as these but it seems we have a long way to go.

Although frustrated by things I cannot control, I remain focused on what I can influence in my sphere. I write, I participate in the process and I vote. I am also learning to let the daily nonsense roll off my back and to greet harsh words with the understanding that not everyone thinks the same as I. It’s time to tone it down and just breathe. If we all remember to serve one another and our community the best we can, then maybe the rest of it will fall into place. At least I hope it will before too long.

In writing this, the June 2 election hasn’t yet happened and it continues to be contentious out there. This article will drop after most of the ballots are counted and I won’t be able to influence your vote one way or another. Nor should I. I will only say that I will be voting for change since the status quo is not working for me. There are some dynamic candidates out there who I hope will bring new energy, a return to common sense and who will work with their constituents, not at odds against them. Fingers crossed that we will all see improvements soon. We deserve better.

Next month, we will celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America. Let the wisdom of our dedicated forefathers and the master plan they laid out, shine light in each and every one of us on that day as we remember where we came from, embrace our core values and head toward a better life for all. We can do this.

Susan Bolan
susanbolan710@gmail.com