Never in my life did I imagine that global war would be fathomable. Has there been conflicts, threats of war that never came to fruition, military operations and executive orders to inflict some sort of damage? Yes, but never has a president and his administration been so dismissive about the potential of national and global ruin. 

Early Sunday morning on March 1 in Austin, a little before 2 a.m., a gunman opened fire into Buford’s, a popular beer garden in the city’s downtown area. The gunman first shot from an SUV using a pistol, striking patrons, before stepping out on foot and continued shooting with a rifle. Jorge Pederson, Ryder Harrington and Saditha Shan died as a result of the shooting.

While the City of Austin and its community came together to mourn the tragedy, the rest of the nation took it upon itself to discuss it. Social media, especially X, was flooded later in the morning with reactions, many of which were condolences to the victims. However, in its immediate aftermath, many used the tragedy as a platform to push their political beliefs and legislation agenda. These agendas ranged from a call for total ban on weapons to the opposite side of the spectrum that called for an increase of gun presence, especially in bars and crowded public spaces. 

It is absolutely our civil right to speak our minds about politics and what we believe in, but in no scenario should a tragedy of any kind, in its immediate aftermath, be used as leverage to push political agendas. I agree, it must be talked about ultimately, but in no way should it be argued about politically just hours after its occurrence. Unfortunately, it was lumped with the acts of the president that occurred just a day prior. 

In the early morning of Feb. 28, the United States launched Operation Epic Fury. According to a fact sheet published by the Department of Defense, the operation was launched with the mission to “dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that pose an imminent threat.” Initially, three U.S. service members were killed and five were seriously wounded as a result of the operation, according to the U.S. Central Command. In an update on March 10, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has stated that since Operation Epic Fury, four more service members have died, eight are critically injured and about 140 members have been wounded during 10 days of attacks tied to the conflict in Iran.

President Donald Trump, in a pre-recorded video posted to Truth Social saying, “And, sadly, there will be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely to be more.”  Despite originally promising that there would be “no new wars,” the president has bombed seven countries thus far. Now, he is teasing a war with Iran. The hours that came after the U.S. attack on Iran, social media exploded from all corners of the world. X, more than any other platform, was full with a furious mix of posts. Among them were conspiracy theories about what would happen next from the countries involved, which U.S. cities were targets for potential attacks, financial “experts” and “influencers” attempting to give advice on how to handle their money and cryptocurrency and most prevalent: fearmongering. On all platforms, there was a nauseating amount of fearmongering. Pure clickbait to enable people to be afraid of what would happen next. Not to say that there is not a reason to be anxious, but there should not be a reason to panic and worry. 

While the President may believe he and his administration is excelling in his second term, a recent Reuters poll disagrees. Overall, the poll showed that 60% of those polled disapprove of the president’s performance. Another Reuters poll showed that 43% of adults disapproved of the attack on Iran and 56% of adults said Trump was using too much military force. Not only do the majority disapprove of his performance, they also disapprove of his handling of immigration, the economy and the cost of living. To add on, the president removed Kristi Noem from her position as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security due to her mishandling of DHS funds, which is now in a partial shutdown and has affected TSA lines at airports across the country. On March 22, it was announced by the president that he would be sending ICE agents to assist TSA and airports, further confusing the role of DHS. Furthermore, Trump’s recent nomination to take over the Department of Homeland Security, fellow Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullins, had a scathing hearing from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. This included a verbal spat with fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul. 

The drama with DHS is just the latest drama within the Trump administration. There has been no shortage of drama or attempts at making a statement from the president in the first year of his second term, particularly about his usage of ICE. In early December 2025, Trump dispatched ICE to Minnesota, specifically the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, home to the nation’s largest Somali community. In the blink of an eye, ICE agents became increasingly aggressive and resulted in a string of tragic events. On Jan. 7, 37-year-old mother of three and U.S. citizen Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE. On Jan. 20, ICE detained 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father who both were subsequently sent to a detention center in Texas. On Jan. 24, 37-year-old Alex Pretti, intensive care nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol. As a result, a poll by Ipsos in late January showed that 62% of Americans felt ICE had gone too far. Not to mention the amount of inhumane acts by ICE in detention centers. All of this, in just a few months.

The U.S. is in the gutter across the board. Legislation such as the Big Beautiful Bill and the SAVE Act are not going to get us out of the hole we are in. If there is anything that is needed in the U.S. more than ever is hope, change and unity. And if there is a great opportunity to participate in each of these with primary voting already underway and will lead to November’s general election where the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate is up for election. It is also important to understand that seats in Congress aren’t the only thing on the ballot. Along with Congress goes the future of legislation that can and cannot be passed. There is the opportunity to regulate the Trump administration and the President’s abuse of executive orders and military action.

Many continuously tout the U.S. as one of the greatest countries to ever exist. This country was built on foundations of liberty, equality, inalienable rights and freedoms, life, rule of law and the pursuit of happiness. If you were to apply these principles to the U.S. today, you will find that we have become a self-centered country with small pockets where decency exists. Our officials should be focusing on the issues that have sprouted and grown across the country such as the rising medication costs, cost of living, poverty, water shortages and much more. Instead, they have enveloped themselves in stalled debates and arguments that have prolonged over months with no results to show for it. That is wasted time and resources. If change cannot be made and there is no efficiency in our government, these downward trends will continue.

 Between the tumultuous and rapidly changing nation we now have and the upcoming mid-term elections, I think there is no time like the present to advocate for change. At the time of this writing, Congress has not come to a resolution to solve DHS funding issues, Attorney General Pam Bondi has been ousted from her position by Trump and gas prices are continuing to rise. Just by viewing current trends that are the result of decisions made by the current Trump administration, these will further sour the relationship of the public and the president. If change is not made, the public will be the ones who suffer the most from the consequences of a Congress and presidential administration who cannot resolve their own created issues. But if change is made, we will finally be able to consider the prospect of resolving the mountain of national problems that has plagued the country for years.