It’s hard to know what to feel today. Anger, despair, fear… An overwhelming urge to light the whole country on fire and to allow the flames to cleanse away our sins.
We lost this one. We let the Presidency, the House and the Senate slip away, and for the next four years, we will have to deal with *ugh* President Trump. Those are two words I never thought I’d have to take seriously. To say that I am shocked is a major understatement – I am shaken to my very core, a numbness spreading inside me that threatens to break down trust of my country and of my fellow Americans.
Justice was on the ballot. Racial equality was on the ballot. LGBT rights, abortion rights, gun control, immigration reform, the denouncement of sexual harassment, and even basic human decency were all on the ballot last night. And we lost it. And I don’t know how to tell you that everything is going to be okay because I can’t even convince myself that it will be.
There are no clever words, no jokes, no quips about his hair or orange complexion or whatever else we’ve been poking fun at that can soften this blow. People are genuinely afraid – we fear for our Latinx and African American brothers and sisters as the police/civilian tensions mount and discriminatory techniques like profiling or “Stop and Frisk” return. We fear for our immigrant neighbors and whether families will be torn apart by tough and cruel reform. We fear that if a woman gets raped she will not only be forced to bring that fetus to term but will then be expected to share custody of her child with her rapist. We fear that all of those brave same-sex couples who chose to publicly celebrate their love will no longer be recognized as being married in the eyes of the law. We fear that regilious freedom will only apply to Protestants, Evangelicals or Baptists. We fear the people will be killed, will be lynched, will have their buildings set on fire – all because of the color of their skin.
There are no clever words, but there are movements. There is protest. There is solidarity. No matter the pain you feel and in spite of the very real threats soon to come, we Americans are stronger together. Now is not the time to accept defeat and to surrender every inch of progress for which we have fought so damn hard over these past centuries. Now is the time to stand up as one and to keep fighting. Donate to Planned Parenthood, work at a domestic violence shelter, volunteer for a Mid-Term Election political campaign – however you see fit, make sure that you stay true to your convictions and are working to make this country safe and just for all.
“You cannot be afraid to speak up and speak out for what you believe. You have to have courage, raw courage,” John Lewis
[Photo Credit: Progress Illinois]
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