As a community member, I am alarmed and upset by the attacks on public schools and programs like Medicaid that ensure education and medicine for future generations.
Republicans in Congress are censoring curriculum, slashing school funding and gutting Medicaid and SNAP all to punish people for the crime of being poor. They are stealing money and food from the sick and the needy in order to enrich the already wealthy, to enable the wealthy to abuse children, to abuse all people by violating their human rights, and frightening hardworking immigrants — people who are just like you and me.
Public dollars are being stolen for private voucher schemes while local schools must scramble for funds. Books that tell the whole truth about our nation and the diversity of life are being banned, and the equity in education is being erased.
Our elected leaders must stand up for all children, everywhere, and their right to safe, honest, fully-funded education.
Cutting Medicaid and public school funding to attack immigrant families is cruel and unsafe. We need a safe and orderly immigration process. We need safe and orderly access to health care and education. We must be given what we are entitled to by being human.
I urge our lawmakers to reject these attacks and invest in our shared future, a future I want to be able to see, where compassion takes precedent over cruelty and education takes precedent over abuse.
I want to be able to have children some day, and I will not be able to do that if public education and publicly funded health care remains under attack. We owe each other compassion, understanding and kindness. The government owes its citizens health care. Give us what we are due.
Laurel Asplund, Layton
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