One morning a few weeks ago, I had an interaction that opened my eyes. This conversation happened on a Facebook post I posted suggesting people pray for President Trump after he got the Coronavirus. I was terrified by some of the cruelty that came back, not towards me but at him. I realized maybe I didn’t serve people as well with the article as I thought I did. One particular poster though, really helped me to realize that, in my own privilege, even though I am fighting on the same side, I had no idea how high the stakes were.
The first article he sent me paints a picture of a small town of people begging St. Jude(Patron Saint of lost causes) for help as most of them die. This is not about the media though, he lives there. This is the reality he is living, and the suffering he is witnessing. I was horrified to find that the mainstream media has not been able to give us even a fraction of a view of how bad things are for the people outside of our own communities.
In some ways, I think it’s because we can’t handle it, we throw away what they are saying because it sounds so awful that we think it is fake. This amount of suffering is so painful that it is easier to turn away and imagine that all of it is a conspiracy. We can’t though. We have the resources to change their lives, especially today and tomorrow. They are praying to St. Jude that we save them.
I know this is an emotional appeal, but to me, the anecdotal stories of suffering that has happened this year are an intense reason for why I am voting the way I am. It is hard for us in middle or upper class white neighborhoods to understand the suffering that is happening in lower income areas, but this is the cost of this presidency.
Trump has not been ashamed to proclaim that he is keeping low income people out of suburban areas. He has pushed everything to stay open during COVID forcing low income people to work in dangerous conditions. He has mocked those who wear masks and encouraged people to do the same, and the low income esssential workers are the ones suffering for it. That is just one of the many ways President has contributed to the suffering of these people who are beloved children of God, Faithful children begging Him to save them.
SUZANNA GORETTI 
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