Last month’s piece, “A Federal Worker’s Story,” got me thinking. I have lived in the Laurel area most of my adult life, but whether you have lived here all your life, or just recently moved here, you are probably being affected by things the new administration is doing with regard to the federal workforce and proposed budget cuts. My own daughter was fired from her federal job. My husband and I live on Social Security and are concerned about noises the administration is making about cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
With these changes going on all around us, it can be really scary. But life is not as scary if you get together with others in the community to share information and to support each other. Meeting and taking action together can help you feel the power we have as citizens, exercising our Constitutional rights to speech and assembly.
In Laurel itself, we have Laurel Resist, led by Amy Knox. Laurel Resist has a presence on Facebook and meets regularly at Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church on Main Street.
There is also an active Indivisible group in Howard County and a new Indivisible group in Prince George’s County. You can find a group near you at Indivisible.org and click on “Join the Movement,” then “Find a Group.”
Actions taken by Resist and Indivisible groups range from postcard-writing campaigns to attending Congressional town hall meetings, to protests in D.C. and elsewhere, but their biggest value, to me, is the community they provide. There is truly strength in numbers.
Barbara LaValle
Laurel
