Dear America,
“It’s hard to believe that we have gotten this far” is probably the most misguided statement I have heard the past few days. This country had, has, and will have these problems rooted so deep in our national identity and highly flawed political system. I won’t pretend to be happy with the outcome of November 8th, but I refuse to sit and scratch my head wondering how something like this could have happened. It is that attitude that has gotten us to where we are.
I want to believe that the anger that has risen from the election results will change anything. I want to believe that the protests and dozens of Facebook posts demanding people take a stand will actually do any good, but I can’t. For months that have felt almost like years, I have listened to insults, threats and generally mean-spirited rhetoric. And I am tired. I am tired of being told that half of America is dead to the other half. I’m tired of racist slurs and sexist comments. I’m tired of my LGBTQ friends feeling unsafe and unaccepted.
That doesn’t mean I won’t accept the results of the election. I have to. For months I criticized several Trump supporters for their cries of mutiny if Hillary was elected the 45th president of the United States. That doesn’t mean I won’t fight, though. I see it every day now: people picketing with signs saying, “Love Not Hate,” and peaceful demonstrations promoting peace and acceptance.
I recently watched Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and beyond his big finale of blowing up a giant 2016 sign, he had a great message of what fight needs to be fought in the upcoming years. In the words of John Oliver, stop what you’re doing. Whether it is posting on Facebook or sharing videos of the media in your tight circle of friends and followers. Now is the time to actually do something. Donate to organizations that will need more help than ever in the upcoming years under a Trump administration. Planned Parenthood, NAACP, NRDC, International Refugee Assistance Project and even the Trevor Project need more help than they did the past eight years.
We were all blissfully sleeping nearly a decade under Obama. We all knew he would fight for all Americans and therefore we no longer needed to fight. That is flat out wrong, and I hope that the results of this election show that. We are inherently a racist, sexist, xenophobic country. I am not saying this to insult the Americans that did vote for Trump, but the system that has now given this man the highest position in our government.
I don’t want to fight for the next four years, but perhaps that is the attitude that has kept us in the standstill of domestic rights that we are currently in. All Americans, both Republican and Democratic, need to stand together and understand the gravity our country is currently in right now. We need to stop thinking about our own selfish agendas like lowering taxes and what government reform would do to our paychecks and start giving a damn about other people. There are millions of Americans who are struggling to find jobs, and I hear you, I am one of you. But if you would much rather sign away the rights of so many others for a minimum-wage paycheck, take a second to look in the mirror and ask yourself if that sip of below-average tasting Kool-Aid is really worth it.
I am a white woman and I am afraid. Not just for myself, but for so many others. I don’t feel safe and I don’t feel free, but when our ancestors felt this very same dissatisfaction and discomfort, they fought. I urge you to fight the good fight and remember that we are not enemies, but all the victims of a cruel system that has let us all down time and time again.