I don't want to live in a country that doesn't hold the health and safety of its citizens in high regard, and I don't want to be left to make important decisions without guidance from qualified professionals.
After returning from vacation in early July, I gave myself some odious but important homework: to read a little about Project 2025, the "presidential transition" designed by the Heritage Foundation for the next Republican administration, every day. I keep a PDF of the 922-page document open on my computer and dip in and out of it, looking for threats to the life that my family and I live in rural North Carolina. This is how I learned that, should Project 2025 be carried out, my children's teachers might no longer be eligible for student loan forgiveness or income-based repayment (page 322), my transgender friends and neighbors might no longer receive protection from discrimination (page 585) and the so-called forever chemicals polluting the water system in Pittsboro might no longer be designated as "hazardous" (page 431). This stressful reading assignment was temporarily interrupted by a nighttime visit from a bat and an ensuing rabies scare, which I wrote about in a guest essay for Times Opinion this week. As I researched exactly what to do next — calling our county health department and consulting guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine whether we needed rabies shots — it occurred to me that the C.D.C. was itself part of the "administrative state" that Project 2025 plans to dismantle. I'd never really thought about what would happen if the C.D.C. disappeared — would our food, medicine and water be safe? Who would collect and study data or issue guidelines in another pandemic? Project 2025 likes to tout individual decision-making, and I value my independence, but I also appreciate and understand my interdependence. Precisely because I'm not an expert on emergencies like rabies exposure, I'm grateful to live in a country with systems and people standing by to help and inform my decisions. I believe most Americans value this, too. It turns out, I'm not just learning about Project 2025's goals from my own reading, but from other people in my life who are just as concerned. That's why I'll do everything I can — phone banking, canvassing, talking with friends and family and neighbors — to support Vice President Kamala Harris and defeat Donald Trump this year.
We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.
|
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Opinion Today: What Project 2025 could cost us
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment