We’re living in a paradox. On one side, Corporate America, hand in hand with government interests, is setting record profits and basking in stock market highs. Over the last five years, they’ve steadily driven prices upward, blaming everything from “supply chain issues” to “nobody wanting to work.” Yet, for all these reasons, they still haven’t managed to raise wages or bonuses in step with inflation, leaning on the convenient excuse of “the economy” as they reap gains.
On the other side is the working class, struggling to keep up. Wage increases have been stagnant, barely scratching the surface of inflation and skyrocketing living costs. For most, these price hikes didn’t vanish once profits returned—they’re now the new normal.
And yet, half the working class is still voting for leaders whose solutions lie in more deregulation and tax cuts for the very corporations who’ve profited at their expense.
Then there’s the environmental crisis—a massive issue that seems to slip further down the agenda. We’re up against the clock on our planet’s long-term health, but a significant chunk of the country supports leaders who call climate change a hoax, ignoring nearly unanimous scientific consensus.
The spread of misinformation online, unchecked and divisive, remains a huge problem, radicalizing users and deepening divides. The media, for its part, has found outrage too profitable to quit, preferring to fuel tensions for views rather than inform responsibly. And that even extends to media organizations I used to trust quite a bit at this point.
Add to this the potential impact of Project 2025—a plan that could push us back in time on social progress, eroding even more rights hard-won over decades for women and minorities.
As Tuesday approaches, it’s tough to feel prepared for the mental despair I could be facing because this country is very close to making a really bad decision. The stakes are high, and if history tells us anything, Tuesday night will likely end without a single clear concession, so we’ll be left hanging by a thread for days, weeks, maybe even months. And even if the results are clear, there’s the likelihood we could sit in our homes watching another violent insurrection again or worse.
I don’t even know how to prepare for this anymore. I wish I could just go numb to it all, but there’s so much at stake. We’re at a point where a hand-picked Supreme Court has granted presidential immunity from criminal accountability, setting a dangerous precedent. We’re told not to worry about losing more rights—that it’s all just “hyperbole”—even though we’ve already seen Roe v. Wade overturned, despite all the same sort of assurances about it being “settled law.”
It’s hard to hold onto hope when each cycle brings new blows to progress and accountability. The people in power seem insulated from the struggles of ordinary life, and even when the public cries out, those voices are drowned by those with the deepest pockets and those who are far too easy to manipulate. At times, it feels like the scales are so tipped that change is impossible, and that cynicism or resignation might be the only shields left.
But even now, maybe hope isn’t about expecting victory. Maybe it’s just refusing to look away, no matter how hard it may be about to become.
