I’m well aware that people in the U.S. are living in two separate realities and mainstream media and social media just make that situation so much worse. For some reason, critical thinking has gone by the wayside. Nearly half the country believes a conman who perpetuates the idea that the 2020 election was stolen (when he knows it was not) and will destroy our democracy to stay in power while his followers let it happen, shades of 1930s Germany.

I’m sure most of you have heard of Project 2025, but if you haven’t, I’ll give you a brief description of this right-wing extremist version of America. It’s a plan formed by politically powerful allies of Donald Trump and JD Vance that they will try to implement should Trump win a second term. Of course, the former President says he has nothing to do with this, but we know he’s a pathological liar, and many of his former advisors and officials were involved in shaping the platform.

It’s essentially a way for Trump and his allies to eliminate the checks and balances the government has in place so he can successfully implement regressive policies without the oversight of Congress or federal agencies. Why do you think so many Republicans and people who served in his first administration have endorsed VP Harris and warned us of the dangers of a second Trump term?

Project 2025 has more than 900 pages but here are a few of the “goals” of this extreme right-wing plan.

Goal: Take away our reproductive freedom by instituting a nationwide abortion ban and reverse the FDA approval of abortion pills. The plan also calls for restricting our access to STD screening, birth control, and IVF.

Goal: End any and all programs that address climate change. It would reduce or eliminate the EPA, NOAA, FEMA, and the FDA which protect our food, air, and water plus aid in disaster relief for such occurrences as the recent Hurricane Helene. It would also remove protections for endangered species, other wildlife, and federally owned lands like our National Parks.

Goal: End public education and eliminate the Department of Education. It would divert public money to private and religious schools through voucher programs. This is already happening in WV. When your local school closes, part of the blame can be placed here.

Goal: Persecute LGBTQ+ Americans. The plan would remove federal protections for LGBTQ+ people allowing them to be fired for their sexual or gender identity. It says that the U.S. government should only recognize heterosexual two parent families.

Goal: Encourage racial discrimination. It would allow the federal government to eliminate all DEI programs and restrict the teaching of authentic history by banning books about slavery and other uncomfortable historical topics. Book banning is already occurring in a number of red states.

Goal: Mass deportation of immigrants and rescind protections for “Dreamers,” immigrants who came to this country as children and grew up here. If we know history, we understand our country is made up of people from all over the world. We must have good border security and a fair path to citizenship, but not at the risk of demonizing our neighbors and friends.

Goal: Give unchecked power to the President. The plan would reinstate an executive order from the first Trump term that would reclassify thousands of non-political government employees, eliminating their employment protections and making them easier to fire. The Trump administration could then pack all levels of the federal government with loyalists who will not check his power.

This is just a brief or not so brief list of policies contained in Project 2025 that would profoundly change the country we love. Before you cast your vote on or before Nov. 5, please think about the kind of place we want to leave to our children and grandchildren.

Some of these extreme policies will be or already have been introduced in the Republican supermajority WV legislature; jailing librarians, anti-vaccine measures, cutting public school funds, restricting the teaching of authentic history, not accepting the results of a free and fair election.

If America is truly the “Land of the Free” let’s keep this in mind and choose our leaders wisely.

Cindy Stemple

Elkins