A Microcosm of the National Scene

No matter how much we try to distract ourselves from the inequities around us, there needs to come a moment of awakening so we take action to turn the tide. The same old strategies and narratives will keep us on this path of ongoing war, continued militarization nationally and locally and the amassing of unlimited wealth in the hands of the few, as our country devolves into an oligarchy.

Witnessing President Joe Biden and many Democratic congresspeople become victims to what they called “hostage taking” tactics with regard to the debt ceiling by Kevin McCarthy’s House “Freedom Caucus” Republicans was heart wrenching. The McCarthy-Biden debt deal will cause harm.

The forces of fear and reactivity were the drivers behind this regressive deal. Instead of the Democrats standing up to bullies, they capitulated and then made excuses as to why they had no choice but to accept the deal. There’s always a choice: invoking the 14th amendment to increase the debt cap was one viable option.

With this deal, Biden turned his back on student debt, the environment, Indigenous peoples, low wealth people and so many others. Just six weeks ago, Biden signed an executive order “revitalizing our nation’s commitment to environmental justice for all.” The cognitive dissonance between the life-centered commitments in the executive order and the debt deal is dizzying. The McCcarthy-Biden debt deal greenlights the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which aims to transport Appalachian shale gas to the eastern US — a golden opportunity for the gas industry and politicians like Senator Joe Manchin. The $6.2 billion pipeline has been bogged down in lawsuits for years. The MVP violated its construction permit 139 times over the course of two years and committed at least 46 water quality standards violations. Oh, but don’t worry, MVP claims they will comply with regulations going forward.

There’s a lack of integrity in Biden’s administration, so there’s a lack of trust. This reminds me of Berkeley. We have been misled by our city’s leaders for years.They claim to be committed to reimagining public safety, however, the police budget continues to grow, police overtime continues to run rampant and the $2 million allocated for a gun violence prevention program goes unspent. All this, while fear mongering about gun violence and other crime pushes the Berkeley City Council to promote a controversial candidate for police chief in the midst of an investigation.

As the City Council promises police accountability and oversight, they continuously undermine the Police Accountability Board (PAB) by regularly ignoring their recommendations and leaving board member positions vacant. As our leaders minimize the strength of the PAB, they further ignore the will of 85 percent of voters who supported the creation of the PAB.

The City Council claims to be committed to affordable housing and yet the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) is sidelined and what qualifies as “affordable” are units that cost thousands of dollars per month.

We expect, as public servants, that they are available to the public; however, our mayor and other council members go out of their way to avoid engaging with their constituents. Recently, Mayor Arréguin postponed a fundraiser for his state senate campaign at Raleigh’s on Telegraph to avoid being confronted by constituents who are unhappy with his leadership.

We need new local and national leaders with integrity, courage, vision and a commitment of serving life to thrive, instead of maintaining the status quo. Together, let’s create a city where people, the natural world and community wellbeing are prioritized over profits, cronyism and personal gain.

This article was first published in the Berkeley Times on June 8, 2023.