Many of us were shocked by the results of the 2016 Presidential election this November, but no one in the ranks of the working poor even blinked an eye. They have felt underappreciated and neglected by the country’s politicians for decades and feel abandoned by anyone else not stitching together a life in a rundown apartment holding three part time jobs. How did I recognize this even before the election? Little things, like this morning when I paid for my coffee at the supermarket deli and reached out my hand for the receipt the 60 year old attendant quickly set it on the counter instead. Visit a high school where kids feel disempowered and you will find trash strewn across campus after each lunch hour; even extending into nearby neighborhoods from those who went for fast food. Chances are you’ve also experienced the painfully slow walker in front of your car that never looks before entering the street, or slowly lumbers across the cross walk as if you and several other people waiting didn’t exist. All of these things are signs that we have a great deal of detachment from the people replacing our sewer lines, trimming our trees, and fixing our coffee. If the message of Trump getting elected means anything, it’s that we need to stop being so damn self-centered and think about quality of life for everyone. Give up the damn “get famous on YouTube quest” and start thinking like a community again.
Riding the Big Sky 