Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 11-15-16 Online Edition

Editorials/Column
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The Storm Before The Storm
t has been 7 days since the
country was stunned by Donald Trump's unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton in the highly controversial 2016 presidential election. And, from the way things are looking, it doesn't seem like the fallout is anywhere near sub- siding.
All week long 24-hour news channels have filled their broadcasts with images of pro- testers in cities across the United States, from New York to Los Angeles, who have taken to the streets to show their dis- approval with the results; nearly all of them refusing to accept the Trump presidency as legitimate.
The rising tensions have even begun to spill over into the na- tion's youth who, taking a cue from the adults around them, are acting out on the rhetoric they've been hearing for almost two years. Videos showing white middle-school age chil- dren chanting "BUILD A WALL, BUILD A WALL," to a group of their Mexican class- mates, and of white teenagers yelling "WHITE POWER" while holding Trump signs,
have become a steady part of the news cycle. Each scene act- ing as a troubling reminder of how easily poison can spread from a tree to the fruit it bears.
Ironically, in the midst of the turmoil there remains a contin- gency of individuals (mostly Trump supporters) who keep trying to convince the rest of us that, regardless of what Trump promised during his campaign and what we're see- ing taking place, things aren't going to be as bad as we think and that we should give the president-elect a chance.
Of course, that's easy for the average white person to say. He or she isn't the one who's been declared public enemy #1 by someone who has just be- come the most powerful states- man in the world.
Unfortunately though, for anyone with black or brown skin, the idea of a Trump Presidential Administration brings a certain level of anxiety. And watching Trump contem- plate filling key government positions with people like Steve Bannon (a well-known member of the white suprema- cist movement), former New
York City Mayor Rudy Giu- liani and Alabama's notorious Jeff Session (a textbook bigot) makes it hard to imagine that things are going to be peaches and cream after the coming inauguration.
I mean there's a reason why the Ku Klux Klan announced Saturday that they're planning to hold the largest parade they've orchestrated in decades in December to celebrate Trump's ascension to the White House. And, while a lo- cation for the event has yet to be announced, I doubt that hosting this kind of spectacle has anything to do with them believing good things are about to happen for Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, gays or Arabs.
There is an old saying that says that it's always darkest be- fore the dawn. But, the truth is, it also gets pretty dark right be- fore a vicious storm rolls through.
With that being the case, it probably wouldn't hurt for us to embrace and enjoy the last few moments of bright sky we have left under President Barack Obama's leadership because, you can bet your last dollar, when Trump takes the helm, the soaking he has planned for us won't be coming from a raincloud.
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Veterans’ Day, Almost Overloooked
ertainly, America could be excused. Even though, last Tuesday, we Americans by the millions trooped to the polls to elect a man who freely admitted not only did
he “love war,” but that he easily knew more than most of his generals, if he should become Commander-in-Chief, still we Americans could be forgiven for focusing more on who next would be our new president rather than who by the millions had been our Democracy’s defenders.
So, we could be pardoned, perhaps, for not approaching this past Friday’s Veterans Day with the same pageantry that it historically deserved.
Yes, President-Elect Trump is fond of saying to a world of ears, “I love war,” just as he is equally fond of admitting, “I hate losers” etc.
In so saying, he reminds us of another warrior Robert E. Lee who observed to one of his aides, “It is well that war is so terrible . . . lest we should grow too fond of it.” During World War II, General Douglas MacArthur said similarly as also did the war-god himself, General George Patton.
So, we will forget about the newest leader of the Free World, and will completely turn our focus to the millions in America’s armed forces whose blood became the underwrit- ing ink of our nation’s living constitution.
Honor, Courage, Nation-Respect, and God-Allegiance are the words we utilize to describe you.
Health Coverage Is My Road To Independence
BY MARY LEAPART Alexandria, Virginia
Summary:
ecause of the Affordable
Care Act and the 2008 mental health parity law, I can’t be denied coverage because of my pre-existing bipolar disor- der.
I am an educator by profes- sion and at heart. I taught high school for 10 years and then left the classroom to work in cur- riculum development and train- ing. In the years since leaving the classroom, I realized that I had developed many skills that I could use to start a career as an independent consultant. I had always dreamed of working for myself. The only obstacle in my way was health insurance.
Ihadtoputmydreamof working for myself on hold and find a job that provided health insurance. I went without cover- age for several months while I
was looking for a new position. Without insurance, I was un- easy. I walked around on eggshells, knowing that any in- jury or illness could be a finan- cial disaster.
After a year in my new full- time job, the Health Insurance Marketplace opened, providing insurance options, despite my pre-existing condition. Initially, I thought the process of shop- ping for a plan through the Mar- ketplace would be overwhelming, so I stayed at my current job—just for the health insurance.
But then I decided that I did- n’t want to wait any longer to chase my dream. At the begin- ning of 2015, I started my own consulting business.
My plan went into effect March 1, 2015. My premium was only $50 a month after tax cred- its. It was wonderful coverage. I had a $0 deductible and my therapist copay was also $0.
The financial assistance I re- ceive under the Affordable Care Act adjusts with my income, so I do pay more for my coverage now since I have started making more money. This year, I re- turned to the classroom to teach part-time while I work on devel- oping my consulting business. But the coverage has remained available and affordable, and the fact that I can even buy insur- ance on my own means so much to me. I am always working to be seen as more than just a label— bipolar disorder. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, this is one less arena where I have to take up that fight.
Now is the time to find an option that works for you. Open Enrollment runs through Janu- ary 31, 2017. Check out your op- tions for affordable, quality coverage at HealthCare.gov. De- cember 15 is the deadline to en- roll in coverage that is effective January 1, 2017.
Get Rid Of Electoral College
Historically, Donald Trump will be the fifth American president to win the Electoral College without win- ning the nation’s popular vote --- forget the “will of the peo-
ple!” He joins Quincy Adams (1824), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888), and George W. Bush (2000) in losing the popular vote. The Electoral College sys- tem requires that presidential candidates win according to the majority votes by states, not by raw vote counts.
So, if a candidate wins a state, but the state has fewer Electoral College seats than larger states, then he or she can still lose the election based upon which states he or she wins. (‘Make sense?)
Historically, most American History classes have taught the American election system. Many of us opposed the sys- tem when we first learned about it. The 2016 Election is the first election where the Electoral College system results were protested nationwide.
No doubt, protests are related to the kind of person Don- ald Trump has turned out to be: racist, sexist, religiously in- tolerant, mocking people’s disabilities, arrogant, vindictive, etc. Never again will Americans be able to set high standards for its leaders.
Most Americans knew President Barack Obama and Sec- retary Hillary Clinton were among the best that America had to offer. Thus, having Clinton win the popular vote, yet, lose
the election is a bitter pill to swallow. That her opponent exhibited the worst of America and brought out the worst in Americans just like him speaks volumes and engenders fear and anx- iety in the majority of people who voted against him.
Not since days before the Civil War have Americans been so divided. Many view the out- dated Electoral College as a sinkhole in the road to Democratic rescue. Unfortunately, we agree with them. The “one man, one vote” is an American myth as long as the Electoral College exists.
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PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016