In early July my wife and I drove to Maine where we stayed for 10 days. The cottage we were staying in looked out on a bay of the Maine coast line. Some mornings we woke up to beautiful sunrises shining across the water, but on other days we were met by a dense fog turning  the ocean and morning sky into a murky whiteness.

While we were there, Congress passed and the President signed what they called a Big Beautiful Bill (BBB), while it detractors called it the Big Ugly Bill. In its final form this bill lines the pockets of the wealthy with huge tax cuts and while  threatening to eviscerate the social safety nets of Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps) that serve the needs of the most vulnerable in our society. It funds ICE and the government’s efforts to round up and deport migrants, defunds the Education Department, depletes foreign aid, and threatens to raise prices on many common items people need, including food. While many progressive groups tried to stop the bill from being passed in its current form, the Big Ugly Bill is now law and will guide and fund the government’s actions for months, and perhaps years, to come. The fight to reverse the bill’s most nefarious elements is not over, but has become more difficult.

Looking out into the fog, it occurred to me that like the fog, our country’s  future is unclear. We don’t know what lies ahead for us as individuals, families, employers, and citizens. While we may be able to advocate and press for changes in the bill, there are no quick fixes. We are in a position where the immediate future is frightening and filled with unknowns. Even the people responsible for passing the bill – our representatives, Senators, and the president – are not sure what is going to happen even as they put on uneasy smiles and try to assure us everything will be just fine.

Rightly or wrongly, many of us have come to expect the government to meet the basic needs of all its citizens. Our schools, our healthcare, our infrastructure, medical research, and much more are in large part supported by government grants. That money is now gone. Instead, the government has deputized ICE agents to serve as legal thugs complete with face-covering masks against undocumented migrants many of whom came here to escape violence and poverty and lived among us as responsible citizens simply seeking to raise their families in a safe environment; now that safety is gone, and they are treated like dangerous criminals.

This is not the government I want nor the kind of leadership deserving of my respect. But it is  unfortunately the government and leadership we have. It’s discompassionate decadence has  become a reality in our and other people’s lives. We can give up and give in, or we can find ways to come together in this hostile environment. Since the government has chosen to be an enemy of the people rather than the servant of the people, we need to seek  out people who are deprived of basic human needs: food, clothing, housing, healthcare, safe schools, and places for children and families to congregate. In our faith communities, neighborhoods, schools, and community activities, we need to build relationships and keep our ears, eyes and hearts open to those who are struggling. At the same time, we must continue to work in groups challenging the current system and work for change. It won’t come soon or easily but it can only come if we build our strength and power through relationships.

I don’t have quick or easy solutions. I have more questions than answers, but in the coming weeks I want to share some insights I have gained from reading books and consulting the minds of those who have insights that may help us over the long fun.

Right now, all we see is a dense fog, but behind that fog is a future. We can’t give up. We must move forward even if we don’t know all the answers. The answers will come as we work together and call out the injustices that surround us and afflict us every day. A new day will come.