This past Friday, January 20, 2017, history was made as Donald Trump, reality TV star turned President Elect, was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. With his right hand raised in promise, he recited the oath of office, vowing to take care of America for the next four years. At least, I imagine that is what happened, but I couldn’t tell you for sure because I did not watch the presidential inauguration. I didn’t want to see it, because I am still so incredibly disappointed in the state of our country.
People say that we just have to get through the next four years, but, honestly, the problems we are facing now are much bigger than that. Donald Trump has proved to be quite destructive and dangerous, inciting violent hate crimes, and discrimination against minority groups. The people who continuously say that Trump won and we all need to “get over it,” are clearly ignorant of the real problems at hand. The fact of the matter is, had another, less incendiary Republican candidate won, there wouldn’t be such outrage and distress ringing out across the country.
This is about more than Trump’s lack of political experience. This is about more than Republican vs. Democrat or liberal vs. conservative. There came a point in this election where it was no longer a presidential race, but a fight for human rights.
The election became a struggle to hold on to the rights we’d already won and to fight even harder for rights we still deserve. From the right to choose, to freedom of religion, people’s safety and security are being attacked. People are fearful of the progress that could be lost in these next four years.
The silver lining of it all appears in the incredible show of solidarity not only across the country, but also across the world. The day after the inauguration, Women’s Marches took place in cities like Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, and London. Hundreds of thousands of people showed up to boycott the inauguration and show the world that we must care for all humans regardless of race, gender, class, or religion.
Twenty-four year old conservative political commentator, Tomi Lahren, has referred to these protesters as “cry babies” who are just whining and upset that Hillary Clinton lost the presidential race. The fact that Tomi refers to the protests in this way shows that she does not understand the real purpose behind them. The protesters are not “cry babies”; they are warriors. These marches were a show of peace and love for humankind.
The women’s march was a demonstration of strength.The people who marched were resolute and determined; they were there to make a difference and show the world that even in the face of adversity, even when times are rough and it feels like everyone is against you, even when it seems that the President of the United States doesn’t have your best interests at heart, we must persevere and continue to fight for our basic human rights.
I couldn’t participate in the march, but my heart was with all of those protesters, wanting to prove that together, we can build a better, kinder, inclusive world.
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