The Eclipse of Illinois
The irony of the eclipse occurring as Illinois once again lacks a budget.
I've lived in Illinois all my life. I've been to a lot of other places, but never really called them home.
But I'm so past ready to find another place.
Because this one is beyond saving.
We haven't had a budget for two years. As someone who just turned 21, I admittedly wasn't paying a whole lot of attention when all this started. I was way more interested in not failing classes.
Now it won't matter if I fail because even if I don't, I might not get a recognized degree.
The funny part is: It's because a bunch of 'adults' in Springfield are throwing a hissy fit. They can't compromise, so our schools are losing accreditation.
I may be just a college student, but I know a few things:
- My country has never not been in a war for the entirety of my life.
- I never felt peace until I went to Ireland. And you know what, I loved that country more than I've ever loved a man. (although the men over there were about on par with the ones here--good ones taken).
- There are a lot of crooks in politics. And I have an inkling that our current situation is due to a crook being elected in office.
- It's going to have to get worse before it can get better.
- In order to fix a debt, you have to stop spending and start paying money back to where you got it from. So why aren't we?
Top humane priorities for funding:
- Education
- Poverty relief
- Lowering the crime rate.
And I don't mean give everybody guns. And I don't mean take everyone's guns away. I mean don't give people with criminal records or mental illnesses guns. Sane, healthy, responsible citizens can have them.
Also for the love of whatever you believe in, train cops to shoot for the kill last. First: Try not to shoot. Second: Shoot to maim or injure, not kill. You can stop someone from moving or being a threat by taking out both legs/arms as a general rule. One at a time. I feel like most people (especially those that are actually innocent) will stop whatever they're doing if they even hear a gunshot, never mind if they're wounded.
Why do criminals get better food/etc than homeless people? Can we fix that please?
How about prioritizing clean, affordable housing and providing the homeless with job opportunities--say, helping to build those houses? Tax breaks for people doing the right, moral thing.
Like organic farms. So we can all have quality, cruelty-free food. Maybe the affordable housing could come with gardens.
Can we work on education costs? 18 year olds don't generally have $60k for tuition. How does that make sense again? Let me tell you.
If you must go to college to get 'a job' (which is what we're taught even if it's not necessarily true) but going to college will put you in debt for the rest of your life no matter how hard you work....how hard are you willing to work? Not very? That's what I thought.
Also seriously some people need basic education. I'm not trying to be funny I'm dead serious.
Let's judge people based on what they do, not who they (or their parents) are.
The children are not guilty of the sins of their parents.
These are just a few thoughts, but seriously. Let's all wake up. We can't keep going on like this.
So let's heed the eclipse, take that darkness and use it to come up with ways to make the future better for everyone in the state. And maybe, we can help the rest of the country after that. And then the world.
But it has to start at home.
About the Creator
Jessica Smith
Just a college student trying to get by. I'm majoring in linguistics for my undergrad, and planning to pursue computational linguistics for a graduate degree.
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