I'm Worried

I’m worried about the ugliness that has crawled out from under the rocks and into the daylight.

I’m worried about what we now excuse, what we ignore, and what we celebrate. I’m worried that cruelty is no longer the cost of admission but the price of loyalty. Since Donald Trump was reelected president, something dark has grown louder. The kind of anger that used to whisper in backrooms is now screaming in the streets and sitting behind microphones.

I’m worried about the lying, the name-calling, and the gaslighting.

This administration has normalized deception. The truth isn’t just under attack, it’s being replaced with performance art disguised as leadership. We’ve seen facts warped in real time, with lies shouted so often that they start to sound like truth. Citizens are being trained to question what they see with their own eyes. People aren’t debating issues anymore. They’re insulting each other into silence.

I’m worried about the fraud, the corruption, and the self-dealing.

Trump and his circle have turned public office into a profit center. Political power is being traded like a commodity, and public trust is treated like collateral damage. Conflicts of interest are not just tolerated, they’re rebranded as "smart business." The lines that separate governing from grifting have been blurred until they don’t exist.

I’m worried about a woman having the right to control what happens to her own body.

This used to be a settled issue. Now it's a political weapon. Courts stacked by this administration have handed power over to states that treat women like second-class citizens. In some places, a rapist has more rights than the person he violated. The government doesn’t belong in anyone’s exam room or between them and their doctor. Yet here we are, watching elected officials debate the dignity and autonomy of half the population like it's up for negotiation.

I’m worried about equal rights for all, regardless of the color of your skin or who you love.

Basic fairness shouldn't be a wedge issue. But under Trump, it’s become open season on civil rights. Laws are being passed that roll back protections, that target LGBTQ+ communities, that make it harder for people of color to vote, to speak, to live safely. Rhetoric once whispered behind closed doors is now campaign material. We’re watching hard-fought progress get chipped away by people who treat equality as a threat instead of a promise.

I’m worried about the concept of due process being stripped from Americans, and they don’t even see it happening.

What used to be core to our legal system is now treated like a nuisance. Detain first, justify later. Punish before proving guilt. Constitutional protections are being ignored or quietly redefined. And while most folks scroll past the headlines, the foundation cracks beneath them. The scariest part? Too many Americans assume that if they’re not doing anything wrong, they have nothing to worry about. Until it’s their door that gets kicked in. Until it’s too late.

I’m worried about the gutting of environmental protections.

Trump has greenlit deregulation on a scale that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. He erased protections for clean water, for national forests, for the air we breathe. Oil and gas companies are writing the rules now. Short-term profits are being prioritized over long-term survival. The consequences will last generations.

I’m worried about the hate being aimed at immigrants.

This isn’t policy. It’s punishment. Human beings are being treated like bargaining chips, dragged from homes, caged, and deported without due process. Trump’s words have painted immigrants as invaders and criminals. His policies are stripping families apart and turning compassion into weakness. We’ve criminalized survival.

I’m worried about what’s happening to education in this country.

We’re banning books instead of encouraging critical thinking. We’re erasing history instead of learning from it. Classrooms should be where truth lives, not where it’s censored to fit a political agenda. When we stop teaching kids about slavery, civil rights, or the struggles of marginalized communities, we’re not protecting them, we’re weakening them. An uninformed generation is easier to manipulate. And that’s the point.

I’m worried about America losing the moral high ground.

We used to lead by example, supporting democracy, building coalitions, and helping communities rise. That leadership built trust and stability. But Trump is pulling us back. Defunding USAID, aligning with dictators, walking away from allies, these moves send a clear message. While we retreat, bad actors step in, spreading control instead of freedom, fear instead of values.

I’m worried about how money and power are driving decisions while morality gets pushed to the sidelines.

It’s not about right or wrong anymore. It’s about who can pay to play. Billionaires write checks and get legislation in return. Religious leaders trade faith for favor. What used to be lines we never crossed have become suggestions we no longer take seriously.

I’m worried about the celebration of crime.

Pardons are being handed out like political thank-you cards. Trump has erased consequences for his allies who attacked our democracy on January 6th. The people who once stormed the Capitol are now being rewarded. Some are running for office. Some are getting airtime. All of them are emboldened. The message is clear: If you’re loyal to him, the law does not apply to you.

I’m worried about rising violence and silence from the top.

Hate crimes are up. Extremist violence is up. Political threats are now part of everyday life for school board members, election officials, and anyone who dares speak up. And through all of it, this administration shrugs. They don’t condemn it. They feed it.

I’m worried about the kids who are watching this.

What are we teaching them about honesty, decency, and responsibility? What happens when they grow up thinking this is normal? When they see that power protects power, that bullies get ahead, that truth is optional? We owe them more than this.

I’m worried about who’s really running this country.

Laws like Citizens United have turned corporations into kingmakers. Billionaires don’t just fund campaigns, they shape the agenda. Their money drowns out the voices of everyday Americans. Decisions in the Oval Office now reflect boardrooms, not living rooms. When profit takes priority over people, democracy doesn’t stand a chance. And right now, the people with the most money are writing the rules the rest of us have to live by.

I’m worried about the future of free speech.

Not just because lies and hate are being protected, but because truth is being punished. I’m worried about being silenced for speaking up, for calling out corruption, for telling the truth when it’s uncomfortable. Trump and his allies have twisted free speech into a shield for disinformation while using power to intimidate critics into silence. Journalists are attacked. Whistleblowers are smeared. Honest voices are being drowned out by conspiracy and rage.

I’m worried about the destruction of the separation of powers.

The Constitution was built on the idea that no one branch should control the others. Checks and balances were meant to protect us from tyranny. But Trump treats the courts and Congress like obstacles, not co-equal branches. He threatens judges, ignores subpoenas, and surrounds himself with loyalists who follow orders, not law. When one person starts pulling all the levers, democracy stops being a shared responsibility and starts looking like a one-man show. And that’s not freedom. That’s authoritarianism.

I’m worried about our democracy.

A convicted felon rules with almost unchecked power. Courts are stacked. The guardrails are broken. Congress is gridlocked and compromised. State legislatures are drawing maps to silence votes. Trump has shown us that democracy isn’t destroyed in one day. It erodes in pieces. And those pieces are falling faster than most people realize.

I’m worried about who we’re becoming as a country.

We used to disagree without dehumanizing each other. We used to believe in the promise of liberty and justice for all. Now, too many people are cheering for revenge instead of justice. They want domination, not representation.

If you feel this too, speak up. Don’t wait for someone else to fix it. Call it out.

Silence, right now, is complicity. We either reclaim the soul of this nation or we let it slip through our fingers. One lie, one grift, one pardon at a time.

Mitch Jackson, Esq. | links

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