Henry Jay Karp is the Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanuel in Davenport, Iowa, which he served from 1985 to 2017. He is the co-founder and co-convener of One Human Family QCA, a social justice organization. This essay first appeared on his Substack column.

When folks like me call out what we see as a profound danger to our society, as it appears that our government is turning against entire segments of our community, stripping or reducing the rights of select groups of people who are our neighbors, there are those who claim we are alarmists sowing discontent; that we are modern day “Chicken Littles,” going around declaring that the sky is falling.

On December 27, the Quad City Times published its list of “top 10 Iowa stories of 2024.” One look at the list offers more than ample justification for the warnings I and so many others have offered about the current state of our state and the troubling prospects of what lies ahead for Iowa and the nation over the next four years. A whopping seven out of these ten top stories are matters of serious concern for Iowa’s social justice advocates.

Story #1 – “On Jan. 4, the nation’s first school shooting of the year occurred in Perry.”

For far too many years, an epidemic of gun violence has plagued our nation. We are one of the world leaders for mass shooting events, for which we should be deeply ashamed. The fact that it has touched so many of our schools and claimed the young lives of so many of our children should break the hearts of all Americans. Yet the gun lobby rules in Washington and Iowa. On April 2, 2021, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill that removed the state’s requirement of a permit to purchase a gun or carry a firearm in public. Making gun ownership more accessible and lifting restrictions on when and where one can “bear arms” is an open invitation to increased gun violence, at a time when we should be striving to reduce it.

Story #2 – “In March, Reynolds’ priority of reshaping the state’s nine area education agencies became law.”

This law reduces several of the services provided by our AEAs. While the final version was not as severe as the bill when it was originally introduced, it still diminishes several of the services these regional agencies provide to local school systems. By so doing, it diminishes the general quality of public education across the state, an action that has serious implications for some of our smallest school districts.

Story #5 – “In June, the Iowa Utilities Board – now the Iowa Utilities Commission – approved an application from Summit Carbon Solutions to build a liquid carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa.”

Once again, we are witnessing a victory of the profit seekers over the environmental defenders, of short-term fiscal gains over long-term planetary survival. If, for some reason, environmental issues do not stir your conscience, “The ruling grants Summit the ability to use eminent domain to force property owners to allow construction crews access to their land to build and maintain the pipeline that will span 29 Iowa counties.” Considering the fundamental nature of the State of Iowa, I cannot imagine that our farmers are happy with having portions of their land snatched away from their crops in order to produce greater revenues for the energy industry.

Story #6 – “Beginning with a March announcement, Deere and Co. staged a series of layoffs that have idled thousands of employees. Factoring in a layoff announced in October 2023, Deere has let go 3,100 workers companywide, with more than 1,000 of those positions in the Cedar Valley.”

While Deere has released a statement claiming that these layoffs are due solely to a downturn in the farm economy, there are industrial concerns that there may be a correlation between them and the fact that Deere is building a production facility in Ramos, Mexico, which they plan to open in 2026. According to a report in Industrial Equipment News, “In a statement a Deere representative referred to as ‘unrelated’ the company also said last week that it will be shifting some production from its Dubuque Works facility in Iowa to a new facility it is building in Ramos, Mexico.”

On November 21, Deere issued a news release entitled “Deere Reports Net Income of $1.245 Billion for Fourth Quarter, $7.1 Billion for Fiscal Year.” Granted, that projection represents a significant drop from last year’s net income of $2.369 billion, but it should be placed side-by-side with another statement found in that same news release: “Our team of over 75,000 dedicated employees come to work each day with a singular focus: delivering products and solutions that enhance efficiency and reduce operating costs for our customers. By providing the essential tools they need, we empower our customers to succeed and thrive in an ever-evolving and challenging landscape.”

So it would appear that John Deere, like so many other American industrialists, intends to increase their profits and close their deficit gaps on the backs of their “team of over 75,000 dedicated employees come to work each day with a singular focus: delivering products and solutions that enhance efficiency and reduce operating costs for our customers. By providing the essential tools they need, we empower our customers to succeed and thrive in an ever-evolving and challenging landscape.”

How can the American economy prosper when American companies replace their domestic labor force with cheaper foreign laborers for the sake of larger profits? While people complain about immigrants taking jobs away from Americans (which is more myth than fact), we should be worried about American workers losing their jobs when their American companies relocate factories to foreign lands to take advantage of a cheaper job market.

Story #7 – “After years of back-and-forth, the controversial ‘heartbeat’ abortion law took force in late July.”

Being 75 years old, I am privileged to have the benefit of some historical perspective. I clearly remember what America looked like before 1973—more than 50 years ago—when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a woman’s right to have an abortion, in its famous Roe v. Wade decision. I remember how all too common were “backstreet abortions” and women using wire clothes hangers to self-abort their pregnancies, and how tragic were the death tolls.

The painful facts on the ground were that the criminalization of abortion did not effectively prevent abortions but rather increased the number of women who died seeking the then-illegal procedure. I have always felt that the abortion issue is the most irreconcilable issue facing Americans

It is so because it pits two diametrically opposing fundamental value systems against each other; one holds that life begins at conception so abortion is an act of murder and the other holds that life begins at birth and that before birth, the fetus is a part of the body of the woman who bears it. Therefore the prohibition of abortions is a direct attack on a woman’s right to control her own body.

The Roe v Wade decision did not require abortions regardless of the circumstances but protected the rights of women to follow the dictates of their own consciences in making their decisions to either choose or refuse the abortion alternative. However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, leaving abortion laws in the hands of state legislatures. With the near-total ban now being enforced in Iowa, our state (like some others) has turned back the clock. Laws endanger pregnant women’s lives, stripping them of their right to control their bodies and make difficult life choices based upon their own values systems.

Story #9 – “The state’s support of former President Donald Trump’s reelection in November solidified Iowa’s transformation from swing state to a solidly red.”

Of course, my choice of this story will be a source of much debate among my fellow Iowans. I truly respect the right of those who disagree with me and I completely understand that in their heart of hearts, they believe Trump’s victory bodes well for the American future. For the time being, we will just have to agree to disagree on this question, for while we can make our own predictions, none of us can know what the future holds. Those who voted for Trump may be right, or my like-minded companions and I may be proven right, or the answer may lie somewhere in between. Only time will be the ultimate judge.

But to my way of thinking, many dangers lie ahead of us in the next four years, dangers I have enumerated several times in the past in multiple articles I have written and which are too many and too complex to include in this space. So if you are interested, check my work on various platforms such as Facebook, Bleeding Heartland, and Substack.

Story #10 – “After Gov. Reynolds signed a law banning public institutions from having diversity, equity and inclusion offices, Iowa’s three universities governed by the Board of Regents unveiled how they will do just that in November.”

Of all seven of these stories, I find this one the most painful of all, or perhaps only second to the story about school shootings. It is so painful for me because it strikes at the very essence of who the American people are, historically.

On every dollar bill, you will find inscribed the words “E Pluribus Unum – Out of Many One.” We are supposed to be one American people built upon the diversity of people who populate our land. From time immemorial, our continent has been populated by many Indigenous American tribes, long before the first Europeans set foot on our shores. And when those Europeans started arriving, they came from many lands, speaking various languages, and practicing numerous faiths. Especially in the earliest history of what would become this nation, most of those arriving Europeans were refugees fleeing religious and other forms of persecution as well as other deprivations in the “Old World.”

That flight of refugees to our shores has never ended. It has only been supplemented by the forced relocation of Africans as slaves, along with the subjugation of those who inhabited our land since before the White European migration.

Our state’s and our nation’s attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is nothing short of an outright rejection of our fundamental American heritage. It is an outrageous act of white supremacy, performed by predominantly white descendants of the very same European refugees who fled to this country because of our national value of welcoming and respecting the diversity of our neighbors and those who seek to be numbered among us. It is an exercise in bigotry run wild. It is an American disgrace.

That is why I and so many others are anguished by seven out of these top ten Iowa stories from 2024.

Those stories display a rotting of the roots of our American democracy. They fill me with great dread for what the future holds. For these are not visions of possible injustices in the future, near or distant. Rather, they reveal that what made Iowa and the U.S. such a wondrous land of liberty and opportunity already has been undermined and dismantled. We see no sign of this terrible trend changing anytime soon.

That is, unless we, the American people, including the people of Iowa, stand up and take actions, legal and peaceful actions, in keeping with the principles of our democracy, that can turn this trend around and return both our state and our nation to the path of pursuing our greatest and highest potentials.