America is morphing from an imperfect democracy into an aspiring authoritarian form of government. The process is already under way if you look at the number of unqualified, Trump-supporting sycophants seeking critical cabinet posts in his new administration.

The news media, most of it, continues to make its case for and against what’s emerging from the Nov. 5 election. It’s exhausting to truly trust what is being said and by whom.

Today’s column is about what I personally know to be true and not political opinion. I want to find and feel gratefulness for my life. No one else, no other columnist, friend or even family member can write authoritatively about that.

And I want to articulate what I see happening in my country and how it impacts the remaining time left to me. I will not be writing this column four years from now during the next presidential election in 2028.

My gratitude list is pretty long.

In no particular order, first comes the country I was born in to by my immigrant parents in 1936.

My country includes me with 65,748,297 other people enrolled in Medicare (March 2023). Medicare and my supplemental Blue Cross coverage have provided me with many wonderful caregivers over time and made it possible for me to sustain my life. I have been treated with a vast array of medical technology in my ongoing dance with metastatic cancer today and melanoma 22 years earlier. One of those “machines” is a hypobaric oxygen chamber right here in town at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. I spent 60 two-hour sessions in that chamber. It was an attempt to encourage the regrowth of skin over the bared bone in my left ear chronically damaged by “targeted radiation” in 2002. The radiation was targeted on an unusual melanoma growth just below my parotid gland. This was after surgery. The radiation also resulted in severe damage to my jaw and the loss of teeth. Sometimes there’s a price to pay for survival.

In 2020 I felt sad to leave Shelburne Falls having lived there for 20 years, the longest I have lived anywhere in my 88 years. However, I am so grateful, thanks to my brother, to now be living in a supportive condominium community here in Greenfield that includes people I have known and worked with in Shelburne Falls and Ashfield. Plus, the reality that I can no longer rake leaves or shovel snow makes me grateful for the condo services that make it possible for me to live solely on the income I receive each month from Social Security.

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One of my recent attacks of gratefulness occurred this past July when I was able to sell my second Prius and purchase, with an additional $7,500 in federal and state incentives, a low mileage 2020 Chevy Bolt EV. It’s the best car I’ve ever driven for two reasons. The first is that I have been writing for many years about my concerns about the accelerating climate crisis. This motivated me to buy my first Prius in 2007 and its replacement after 200,000 miles in 2019. The second reason is that with my declining capacity to walk, my sprightly Bolt gives me a kind of mobility independence that frees me from using fossil fuel and the increasing effort it takes me to fill a gas tank.

The list of people that I am blessed with and grateful for extend way beyond my family.

So … what are my (our) “political problems?”

MEDICARE: Donald Trump spent every year of his last presidency trying to gut Medicare and Medicaid — and he’s already made clear his plans for a second term including cutting these critical benefits for seniors. The Trump-Vance ticket is pushing the extreme Project 2025 blueprint that would undo the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs for seniors while putting Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Project 2025 calls for the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is the largest climate solutions bill in U.S. history, providing nearly $400 billion for clean energy investments and climate mitigation efforts. It advocates for the repeal of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and other climate-related policies, which have been instrumental in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean energy.

Project 2025 also advocates for the elimination of federal subsidies for electric vehicles, which are currently in place to incentivize their purchase and production. The project envisions a broader shift away from climate-friendly policies, including ending federal support for renewable energy, expanding oil and gas production, and reducing regulatory barriers to fossil fuel development.

I/we (most of us) are living in a time that will take decades to overcome.

“Connecting the Dots” is published every other Saturday in the Recorder. Comments and questions are invited at john01370@gmail.com.