For any adult who was born and grew up in this country, the USA is a strange and foreboding place today. There is a pervasive sense among the citizenry (remember that word?) that the worst is yet to come for our country. We all know the macro-national issues--border, crime, economy, corruption, to name but a few. But each of us is probably experiencing the fallout of these problems on a micro level, too.
The negative and damaging changes in our society are clearly visible in almost any community. I can share some examples from my own neighborhood.
In the past few months, I've been present twice as the grocery store that I've shopped in for more than four decades was robbed in broad daylight. There were no consequences for the criminal; it was the same perpetrator both times. The thief stuffed his plastic bags full of products and scampered out the door, laughing and brazenly shaking the bulging bags in the face of the store employee who pursued him. The employee stopped at the store's entrance and photographed the criminal as he ran across the parking lot.
As I left the store, I asked the store worker if this had happened before. "Every day," he replied grimly. Sure enough, while shopping the following week I witnessed the same crime, with the same lack of consequences. It is unsettling and disheartening to know that no police responded to this crime.
My neighborhood streets have been torn to shreds for a year and a half. A 2022 road project that was supposed to be completed in less than one year shows no signs of completion. There are huge potholes, steel plates, orange cones and netting, sewer pipes, and parked heavy equipment all over my local streets. I can't imagine taxpaying citizens tolerating this situation even 20 years ago, but nowadays people seem to have accepted the cold fact that we are not the government's priority. Besides, there are more serious problems to worry about.
Although my street has always been a cozy cul-de-sac where many of my long-time neighbors are also friends, the tenor of our times has added a layer of caution to my everyday actions. If I've forgotten to check my mailbox after work, I no longer saunter out in darkness to gather the mail. On the night before trash collection, I've stopped dashing out in the darkness to add a forgotten item to the bin. Now I wait for daylight for such chores, and I look around before unlocking my security door and venturing forth. I've seen the grocery store thief wandering around other locations in my town, so one can't be too careful.
This is not America. I feel as though we have already lost our nation and are only beginning to realize the depth and gravity of our loss. All I can do is pray that I'm wrong--and keep the house locked tight.
