Democrats Back Down with Compassion, Not Weakness

 By Mildred Robertson

It appears that the U.S. government shutdown is nearing an end, as Republicans continue to steadfastly oppose negotiations with Democrats. Amazingly, Democrats find themselves at this juncture, even after the overwhelming rejection of Republican candidates and their far-right politics during the November 4th elections.

It is much like the difficult decision faced by King Solomon in 1 Kings, 3: 16-28, when two women who lived together each claimed the same child as their own. It appears that one woman rolled over and killed her baby as they slept. She then switched her dead baby with the living child of her roommate.

With no witnesses and no one to identify the child’s mother, Solomon was faced with an almost impossible task to determine to whom the living child belonged. So, he did something outrageous. Since he could not determine the identity of the true mother, he ordered his soldiers to bring a sword to cut the baby in half and give half to each woman. The true mother cried out, “Please don’t kill my son…give him to her…just don’t kill him.” Solomon then discerned who the true mother was and returned the child to his true mother.

Democrats faced a similarly difficult decision as they fought to maintain healthcare for millions of Americans. The Affordable Care Act tax credits (ACA), a signature Obama program, are set to expire at the end of the year. If that occurs, Americans will face sharply higher health insurance premiums and possible loss of coverage. This program is made affordable through tax credits targeted to assist middle-class Americans who would otherwise fall outside the subsidy range. Before the enactment of the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, those participating in the ACA faced a steep premium increase, making the coverage untenable for many Americans. 

While Democrats have fought ferociously to maintain the healthcare tax credits, Republicans have been willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of federal workers to fight the Democrats' attempt to safeguard healthcare. Many federal workers have been furloughed or fired, and most have not received pay during this shutdown, although workers like soldiers and air traffic controllers are still required to work. Instead of working to solve the problems facing our country, the Republicans took more than a month “vacation” as House Speaker Mike Johnson sent them home and advised them NOT to hold town hall meetings.

Acutely aware of the pain Americans were suffering as they struggled to pay mortgages, buy groceries, or pay for a myriad of necessary expenses without the funds to do so, Democrats were much like the mother in the Bible story who chose to relent rather than have the baby cut in half.

I am unsure whether it was the right choice. Unfortunately, America is not run by Solomon-like leaders, nor do I have divine insight. I know that, just as the woman in the scriptures was hard-hearted enough to sacrifice the child rather than acknowledge the death of her own, the Republicans did not feel the people’s pain and were willing to destroy everyone if they were unable to get their way. Even in the face of a landslide election that indicates Americans think they are wrong-headed, they had no intention of negotiating to find a solution that was acceptable to all.

I am somewhat disheartened that Senate Democrats backed down, but I don’t know how to split the baby without killing it. I hope that Americans view the Democratic struggle as one of compassion, and not weakness.

The Challenge of Distinguishing Fact from Fiction in Modern Media

By Mildred Robertson

In today's media landscape, distinguishing facts from fiction has become increasingly difficult. The sheer volume of information presented to us makes it challenging to verify what is real. As a result, many people rely on the media to distill facts and provide the foundation for their beliefs. However, this reliance often means that individuals neither seek out facts themselves nor work to distill them into a coherent ideology.

News and social media have, in effect, taken away our ability to analyze facts and arrive at informed conclusions. The prevalence of propaganda further complicates our ability to tell the difference between lies and the truth. Many people now struggle to distinguish between facts and opinions, viewing information through a prism of partisan bias. This tendency leads some to distrust information simply because it originates from someone with an opposing philosophy, regardless of how factual it may be. A study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign highlights that this inclination poses a serious threat to civic discourse among U.S. citizens.

The news media, once celebrated as the “fourth estate,” were recognized for their ability to mediate the dissemination of information, enabling citizens to participate intelligently in civil discourse and self-governance. Over the years, and particularly with the rise of social media, news reporting has shifted its focus toward sensationalism. This shift has undermined the media’s role in providing citizens with the information necessary to live in and maintain a free society.

Today, many consumers of news and information simply sit in front of TV or computer screens, passively absorbing the opinions, biases, and rhetoric of talking heads. This process leads individuals to believe they have arrived at a worldview based on fact, when in reality, their perspective may be shaped more by external influences than by objective analysis.