Robin Jaffin: Silence is not an option

Kaboompics.com

Published: 03-25-2025 6:30 PM

As a 65-year-old woman who has lived in western Massachusetts for 47 years, I have seen my share of political crises in this country. But never — never — have I witnessed such a brazen, coordinated attack on our democracy and our communities as we are seeing today. This isn’t just about political differences; it is about the systematic dismantling of government institutions that serve and protect us all.

The Trump administration, with the help of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has launched sweeping federal workforce reductions and funding freezes, and the effects are already hitting home.

Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts had its funding abruptly frozen, leaving 138 newly arrived refugees without housing assistance, school enrollment support, or basic services. A family from Afghanistan, expecting stable housing, was left stranded. Meanwhile, foreign aid freezes have canceled family reunifications, preventing refugees in western Massachusetts from reuniting with their loved ones.

But it’s not just refugees who are suffering. Federal workforce cuts have slashed jobs at the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, threatening grants for Massachusetts universities and research institutions. The U.S. Forest Service has lost more than 3,400 employees, putting wildfire prevention and trail maintenance in New England at risk.

A $340 million freeze on food aid has left American-grown wheat stranded in ports, and USDA funding pauses are leaving farmers — many of whom supply our local food banks and farmers markets — in limbo.

We also are watching our personal freedoms erode. Layoffs at the CDC and FDA threaten public health responses. LGBTQ+ rights, especially for our trans community members, are under direct attack from this administration. And perhaps most chillingly, executive orders now grant the president sweeping control over independent agencies and allow federal employees to be fired simply for speaking the truth.

This is not normal. It is not acceptable. And it will not stop unless we, the people, stop it. We have long prided ourselves on being a nation of laws, a nation of democracy, and a nation that protects its most vulnerable. But today, those guardrails are being dismantled before our eyes.

Silence is not an option. We must raise our voices, march in the streets, support our advocates, call our representatives, and vote like our democracy, and our community, depends on it. Because it does.

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