In 2016 voters in the United States have important choices to make. They must first decide if they wish to continue living in a nation filled with fear or return to hope for the future of our nation, its people, and the world. Do we continue to allow politicians to claim that terrorism is a greater danger to our nation’s people than concern for our nation’s ills? Is the quality of daily life for you and your family your most important concern, or will you fear what is happening in the Middle East, thousands of miles away?

Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and other presidential hopefuls would like you to ignore domestic issues, and the true dangers to your safety already in existence within our shores. They are aware that if you succumb to their focus on ISIS, your fear will outweigh your intelligence and logic.

They know that they must divert your attention from a growing income inequality. Millions of Americans are one paycheck away from living at the poverty level. The middle class is disappearing as the wealthy and those suffering poverty conditions increase in numbers. This is a far greater danger to millions of Americans than a group of thugs, murderers and rapists.

More than 30,000 innocent people, mostly women and children, are murdered by the use of a gun each year in our nation. In 2015 more multiple shootings have occurred than days in the year. Suspected terrorists already living in the United States are not restricted from buying assault rifles. The special interest NRA lobby has taken preference over the safety of the American people.

The United States ranks 14^th in education worldwide. The younger people in our nation are falling behind in their opportunities to obtain jobs in technology, engineering, and science. Rising cost of higher education has forbidden many of our nation’s young from attending colleges and universities. Twenty years ago education was a national priority; today it fails to receive the necessary consideration to move our country forward into the 21^st century and regain our stature in the world.

The worst attributes of our nation are on the increase, as our country becomes even more divided. Racism, bigotry, homophobia, and misogyny have removed America’s label of ‘greatness.’

Nearly 12 million men, women, and children remain in limbo while our government plays politics. These undocumented residents must be addressed and the situation solved. Deporting them is impossible, and a path to citizenship is the only real option. These individuals would be an asset to our nation in multiple ways including economically.

The use of fossil fuel is destroying our air, water, and soil. A lack of concern for future generations has allowed corporations to enjoy an increase in profits while our planet is being murdered. Who in the political arena has voiced concern about the greatest danger to our nation’s future? Think about it.

Fifty years ago the black community received unfair and excessively violent action by law enforcement. It is far worse today and exposed by the fact that virtually everyone has a camera, and the facts can no longer be hidden. Those who are intended to protect us must receive more comprehensive training, and the use of lethal weapons become a last choice, not their first.

Women must be given their freedom. No longer can men be allowed to control a woman’s body. No longer can men deny them equal rights in the workplace. No longer can women be given ‘second class’ stature. Domestic violence is the cause of more deaths in our nation yearly than all those we lost in the war in Afghanistan, and is the biggest cause of homelessness for women.

Although the Affordable Care Act is a beginning, it must be improved. Universal Healthcare is a right, not a situation available only for the few. All 535 Congressmen have healthcare comparable to corporate CEOs, while denying any form for those who pay them. America must cease to be the only developed nation not to protect the health of all of its people.

Finally, the Christian religious right must be removed from the political spectrum. They pay no taxes but own a share of the GOP, against the wishes of our founding fathers.

If you still believe that ISIS is a bigger problem than all of those above, you are brainwashed by the GOP and its propaganda machine FOX Noise.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Photo Courtesy of Marcin Cajzer

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