Turning the page

Bruce Giudici

The elections are over, so the work begins. In this month of thanksgiving, we must be thankful that, for those of us who survived the past 4 years, we have the opportunity to still make this a better world. Our earth and its inhabitants need a breather – and then a quick move off our current unsustainable path to a better future. And, like the past election, every move toward sustainability will take enormous unprecedented cooperative effort. The stakes are high, but on November 3, we took the first step.

Why say that these efforts are “unprecedented?” Because we have huge entrenched interests with a financial stake to keep things as they currently exist. The medical-, fossil fuel- and military-industrial complexes employ a significant portion of our population – and each sector is super-profitable. The people at the top enjoying those profits like to keep things as they are, while we people at the bottom are the ones absorbing the actual and hidden costs of keeping things stable.

We know that the incoming President has not shown himself to be a leader in progressive sustainable action. For all his flaws, however, President-elect Biden has shown himself to follow where the people lead. When large majorities want progressive change (which has been noted in many polls for environmental, health and justice policies), we can demonstrate that there is actually an electoral benefit to embracing the Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and Re-funding our Security.

The work is in front of us – and I hope that this website can be a resource in moving us toward positive social action. I will be reaching out to local leaders starting now – on this Armistice Day 2020 – to get this project where it needs to be. San Joaquin County needs both a bulletin board and a reliable news source in the coming years. Please lend a hand in making this sjconnections.news work for all of us. Happy Holidays!