These are the facts:
(1) Donald Trump, a man with no experience in government, who never served in
the armed forces, who is, by business standards, a poor business man, who profits from
the failings of his businesses, who doesn’t pay his employees, who doesn’t pay his taxes,
who brags about getting away with sexual assault because of his fame, who brags about
walking in on teenage girls’ changing in dressing rooms, who has expressed interest in his
daughter’s body, who has been accused of rape and sexual assault a number of times, who
said that women who have had abortions must be punished, who bragged about the size
of his penis in a presidential debate, who ran the nastiest campaign in modern history,
who ran his campaign on promises of jailing his opponent, mass deportation of Mexican
immigrants, a literal wall on the Mexican/American border, and a ban on Muslims
entering the country, who encouraged his supporters to assassinate his opponent, who
surrounds himself with white nationalists, who quotes white nationalists, who equates
African-Americans with crime, who got into politics by demanding the first African-
American president prove he was not born in Africa, who champions stop-and-frisk, who
believes Syrian refugees should not be accepted into the country, who publicly attacked a
five-star family and a former Miss America contestant, who makes fun of disabled
people, who does not believe in climate change, who has threatened members of the press
and others who speak out against him, who has found a mentor and role model in
Vladimir Putin, has been elected president of the United States of America.
(2) Hillary Clinton, civil rights lawyer, First Lady of the United States of
America, Senator of New York, Secretary of State of the United States of America, lost
the electoral vote, but won the popular vote by over 2 million votes and counting.
(3) More than half of the country is appalled by the results of the election. They
are terrified, angry, heartbroken, and disillusioned.
(4) Protests have broken out all over the country and some of them have become
violent.
(5) In Brooklyn, a male Trump supporter punched a woman in the face for
expressing her disappointment in the results.
(6) A cowardly bigot spray-painted swastikas and ‘Go Trump’ on the memorial of
the late Beastie Boy, Adam Yauch.
And so on and so forth.
Most of us are feeling hopeless. We don’t know what to do and we don’t know if
there is anything we can do that could make a real difference. I know that I have
personally fallen into straight despair more than once since the election. I took it as a
national declaration of indifference at best. At worst, it was the word ‘No.’ It was a
statement against equality and progress. It was an embrace of nihilism. I accept the truth
that not everyone who voted for Mr. Trump is racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, or
xenophobic. However, everyone who voted for Trump, by voting for him, voted in
support of racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia, because Trump is racist,
misogynistic, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic. Still, even those who voted for him and supported him will be abandoned by him, because there is one thing Trump is not, and that is a patriot.
A patriot loves America. A patriot gives their life for their country, works tirelessly on behalf of their country, and embraces the ideas and ideals that their country was founded upon. A patriot remembers that with the exception of Native Americans, not a one of us belong here, that we are all refugees of other countries, other cultures, other ways of life, and other religions, that we have been collectively thrown into the melting pot, our colors mixing, our cultures clashing then blending together, our religions learning from each other, and our loyal oppositions working with us towards a common good, which is a safe and prosperous country for every American. A patriot sees Lady Liberty as the ultimate American symbol, a guiding light for our fellow cast aways, looking for life, liberty and happiness, who believes in one nation, one people, in acceptance, shelter from storms, brother and sisterhood, in a life of individual and communal harmony. A patriot knows that even when our politicians and citizens do not adhere to these ideals that they live on, that they still matter, that they still mean something, and that they are the ultimate goal we are forever working towards.
Trump is no patriot. He says he loves America, but what he means is that he loves a very specific part of America, an America for him and no one else. He means he loves himself. He wants an America that works for him at the expense of all others. He excludes all of us, even those who supported and voted for him, but we are not going anywhere. I’ve wondered many times since November 9 where we as a nation can go from here. There is only one way to go: Up.
So for those of you, like me, who don’t know what to do, this is it: we keep doing what we do. We make ourselves heard. We keep an eye on the administration. We call and write our representatives. We support and donate to organizations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood (aclu.org and plannedparenthood.org) who are on the frontlines of our battles. We make demands. We vote. We keep away from apathy and nihilism. We live our lives to the fullest. We stand together. We protect each other. We unite. We remind Mr. Trump that his America is not all of America. We remind him that we are America, and that he is president of all of us, and if he doesn’t listen, we impeach him or kick him out in 2020.
Here is the beginning of a list of demands, in no order, equally important and equally in jeopardy:
1. Do not repeal our health care
2. Keep Roe v. Wade
3. Keep Marriage Equality
4. Close the gender pay gap
5. Keep the Iran Deal
6. Do not build the wall
7. Accept Syrian refugees
8. Do not go backwards on climate change
9. Do not build the pipeline
10. Do not alienate us from our allies
11. Do not be a puppet to Putin
12. Do not stop and frisk us
13. Do not register us by our religion
14. Instate universal background checks
15. Denounce the Klan and white nationalism
16. Apologize
Keep it coming. Keep living. Keep loving. Keep fighting.
Ohio Representatives:
Lauren Alexis Reed 