Is our democracy truly serving us?

Is our democracy truly serving us? What weight do we truly hold in influencing our own well-being here in the United States of America? 

For a lot of us, the effects of inflation are emptying our wallets and bank accounts. Gas prices are up 90 percent from last year and grocery costs are rising as high as 35 percent higher than last year. Inflation is weighing heavily on us all. The working class, around the world, is being hit the hardest of all. 

What’s more, current inflation is tied directly to Russia’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine, so better to help bring it to an end as soon as possible. The United States acting as a hegemon is doing the opposite by not using its vast diplomatic resources and soft power to bring the war to as swift an end as possible. Instead, the United States is exerting hard power to punish and demonize Russia and is funneling billions of dollars of military equipment to Ukraine to continue the violence. 

It’s not certain that ending the war in Ukraine will bring inflation down. It is clear, however, that ending the war will stop the killing of so many lives. All wars end with a diplomatic agreement—that is for sure. The only question is how many living things will have to die before such an agreement is reached between Ukraine and Russia? Strikingly, President Joe Biden has even said that we Americans and Ukrainians must endure whatever for “as long as it takes.”

I don’t know about you but I’d like to live in a peaceful world and be able to fill up my grocery cart. Where’re the politicians working for peace and economic justice? Step forward and run, and I’ll vote for you.