GED Section: You Were Warned...
D.L. Hughley's Notes from the GED Section , always a blend of sharp wit and piercing commentary, often tackles pressing social and cultural issues with unflinching honesty. One of DL's takes a deep dive into the multiple times you were warned.
It started slowly, almost imperceptibly—budget revisions here, reallocations there. The politicians assured the public these were mundane adjustments, nothing to worry about. Life went on, but the signs were there—for those who dared to see them.
It wasn't long before cracks began to show. Grandparents were turned away from clinics because Medicare had been slashed beyond recognition. Families with children in wheelchairs struggled alone, as Medicaid support vanished. Retirement didn't mean security anymore. It meant working for survival, because Social Security was barely enough to cover a week's worth of groceries.
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And then, nature made its fury known. Tornadoes ripped through the Midwest, leveling towns in minutes. Lives could have been saved, but there were no alerts. They had cut funding for weather monitoring systems, deeming them 'nonessential expenses.' Communities were left scrambling blindly, with no warning to seek shelter.
Meanwhile, food lines grew longer. School lunch programs dwindled, leaving classrooms full of children running on empty stomachs. But still, they claimed this was 'freedom.' They spoke of fiscal responsibility while ignoring the desperate faces of those in need.
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The air grew thick, both figuratively and literally. Environmental protections disappeared, making way for corporations to dump toxins at will. Public outcry was muffled by the louder noise of partisan battles, while rivers turned dark and skies took on unfamiliar hues.
People were told, over and over, that these policies would bring 'liberation.' Instead, it brought desolation.
What's most painful is knowing this future didn't sneak up on us—we saw it coming. We were told of the dangers buried in budgets like Project 2025. We were told what cuts to social systems would mean for families, for communities, and for the principles we claim to hold dear.
And now, as we survey the consequences, the question echoes louder than any siren we never heard: why didn't we listen?
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