Donald Trump is tearing down my country so quickly that my head is spinning. My anxiety is off the charts, not for myself but for younger Americans. I have enjoyed a good life with educational opportunities and freedom to be myself and develop my own thoughts. What Trump is doing with the stroke of a Sharpie is chaotic and often unconstitutional. It is unlikely to end well for any of us regardless of our individual political leanings. 

So Trump seems intent on putting a freeze on multiple federal programs including free breakfast and lunch for children. He says that it won’t necessarily be a longterm change but will allow him to determine whether or not such a program is worth the investment of federal dollars. 

First of all those federal dollars come from the taxes that every citizen pays. Since only about a third of all eligible voters cast their votes for Trump he should consider asking the rest of us how we feel about everything he is doing. Looking specifically at the free breakfast/free lunch program I would have to cast my vote in favor of feeding our school children. In a country as wealthy as the United States it is a travesty that anyone would think that providing sustenance for the poor among us is a luxury that our nation cannot afford. 

Children learn and perform better when they are well fed. Many young people in the United States are living in poverty in spite of parental efforts to provide for them. I can’t begin to describe the number of students that I have taught whose parents worked two and three jobs just to pay rent and purchase groceries. In a time when the cost of food is skyrocketing it is likely that large numbers of young people arrive at school without nourishment. The free breakfast and lunch programs were a safety net for them that makes a difference in their ability to concentrate and learn. Hungry people do not generally do well at anything that requires them to use their body’s energy without the fuel that we all need. 

When i was in college I was a commuter student. I managed to hitch a ride to school each morning by paying a friend. I also had to cover my tuition and books. I worked at various jobs but none of them paid enough to insure that I would be able to stretch my funds as far as I needed to do. i had to be very careful in how I spent every nickel. The only place to cut corners was with food. I ate breakfast at home and at first skipped lunch at school each day. Doing so proved to be more difficult than I had imagined. Because my ride home did not come until ten hours after I had eaten I was constantly feeling lightheaded. I sometimes zoned out during class. I was punishing my body and soon realized that I could not continue to fast every single day. I eventually remedied the situation slightly by bringing a peanut butter sandwich in my book bag. It wasn’t the healthiest diet but it kept me from passing out.

I can’t imagine anything more intentionally cruel that cutting funding for the free lunch program. To add fuel to the hot topic Trump and some of his supporters have suggested that students should work after school to earn money for the food that they eat. Is this actually a suggestion that we should feel okay about? Would these same folks see nothing innately wrong about putting young children back on assembly lines? Should we lower the age at which youngsters can legally work? What is anyone thinking when they even hint at such things? What kind of jobs can young people procure that will produce enough income to pay for the food they need? What happens to time for studying and doing homework? Will poor children be deprived of participating in extra curricular activities because they have to work? 

Of course such questions would normally sound ridiculous but these are not normal times. I doubt seriously that even the MAGAs who voted for Donald Trump ever imagined that he would be looking for ways to save money by cutting multiple programs while giving bigger and bigger tax cuts for the richest among us. What kind of nation are we when we abandon the most vulnerable? 

Frankly I am exhausted and Trump has only been in office a little over two weeks. So much of what he is doing is totally unnecessary but he lies to make his plans sound reasonable. If we the people do not speak out now and do so loudly it won’t be long before we no longer recognize our country. Trump is undoing years of progress without taking the time to consider the many unintended consequences of his actions. He is tearing us apart while hoping to  line his own pockets and those of his band of oligarchs. I seriously do not understand why there is not way more concern being uttered all across the land. 

We still have our freedom of speech although is seems as though anyone wanting to work for the federal government will have to pledge allegiance to Trump. Those who believe Trump’s ideas will make America Great Again are in for a huge shock. It’s time we all had the courage to speak out and stop the the runaway train before it crashes and burns. Our children and our freedoms depend on how we react.

Update: After an uproar from citizens and judges Trump rescinded his attempt to freeze many programs proving that we still have power if we use it. Do not be silent. Push back. Make yourself heard.