As I write this note to all my fellow Family Physician colleagues in Los Angeles, I am in our Nation’s Capital. Many of us in LA are still reeling from the devastation and destruction of the wildfires – and our hearts, resources and energies go out those suffering at this time. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it gets much worse. These are grim times and that chill runs through the air here in Washington, DC – you can literally feel it slicing through you like a sharp knife. Chaos abounds here as we brace for impact and the fallout from devastating cuts to public health and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Draconian cuts to medical research and science that include cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to a $3 trillion dollar proposal by Republicans to slash and burn Medicaid and Medicare, crippling our seniors and those most in need of healthcare services.
Meanwhile, raiders have assaulted our financial and payment systems at the US Department of the Treasury robbing us of privacy and security, denying access to the Department of Education to our elected officials as they dismantle public education, shuttering USAID; a critical foreign diplomacy tool that will now surely result in the death of millions of people including Americans abroad. Dismantling our Justice Department, and with it, any sense of American Pride and the rule of law and order, our economic futures, and our very way of life. We have handed over the keys of our democracy to the oligarchy, as they rape and pillage US taxpayers – while on their devilish quest to create a new class of trillionaires. Absolute power corrupts. Absolute money corrupts. Absolute power along with absolute money results in absolute destruction — and that’s the story from where I am here in Washington.
So it is hard to see any path forward for us, the American People, Family Physicians, and our patients in Los Angeles. But we must not allow them to destroy us, our spirit, and defeat our resolve – one that strives toward justice, peace, and equity (all of which are now considered controversial values by White Christian Nationalists and their hostile takeover of our nation and psyche). It has made me wonder about joy and laughter (and the tears and sorrows) felt during WWII Nazi Germany by countless many victims, as they huddled together and supported one another during a fascist takeover of their country. How were they able to still sing and dance and find joy in their dire times? We have a lot to learn from those who have suffered under oppression throughout humankind’s past, as we find ways to press ahead and keep our head up and held high.
For me, it includes, enjoying watching a remarkable 2025 Super Bowl Half-Time Show performance by Kedrick Lamar. While sitting here in a bar in DC alongside other justice and health equity warriors and champions, we were able to numb our pain and realities while watching America’s greatest game together. It was a wonderful critique of all that we are seeing playing out within our Federal government – one that takes advantage of Americans who selflessly bear the weight of the American flag throughout history and present day. It was a reminder that “they” are not like us and that we all belong here. I really do hope the destructive, most powerful, most wealthy and most greedy, the 0.001% who were present and watching in-person at the Super Bowl reflect on the subtle messages of this prized Pulitzer-winning artist, with 22 Grammy Awards, a message that only they could deliver to America, as the world watches on – a world now watching us with trepidation and fear.
So, let’s all take a moment to breathe and be still and quiet. What will we do to protect our patients, our healthcare system, our communities, and our democracy in the coming days and weeks and months? What will we do to preserve our spirit and sanity and find joy in dark times? And now more than ever, how can we be present for each other and our patients as we face the grim realities of a dystopian future that we once read about in grade-school books, but now has become a roadmap or blueprint for our new reality?
We are here. We are here for each other and your Academy stands by you and supports us. Please reach out if there is anything we can do for you during these trying times.
In Solidarity,
Jerry Abraham, MD, MPH, CMQ
2025 LAAFP President
