I found an article by Seth Millstein, who wrote an excellent article for Bustle.com called, What To Tell People Who Say You Have To Accept Donald Trump’s Presidency Now. (click the italics for the link)
Read it. It’s good.
The article got me thinking…
Much of what I’ve been feeling was summed up in that article. Much of what has been going through my head was neatly explained in those few words by Millstein.
And because I believe I have a voice, here’s my take:
The minute I turned 18 I registered to vote, not out of a sense of obligation but a sense of pride.
I wanted my voice heard.
I wanted to make sure that my vote counted and that the person I felt was right for the job got elected. I voted with a conscience, allowing my faith and my heart to guide me in the voting booth.
The same is true now.
This last election was hard on everyone. Mom and I yelled at the TV a few times during debates. I still have a hard time stomaching some Facebook posts from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named supporters.
However, I honestly had a hard time voting for Hillary, for a whole bunch of reasons (not email-gate). I also had a hard time voting for Bernie in the prelims, just so you know. I didn’t feel any of the candidates were worthy to be called POTUS. Though I couldn’t vote for bigotry. I couldn’t vote for a child, who can’t handle criticism. I couldn’t vote for hate and fear and ugliness. Call me crazy, but I couldn’t.
On Election night, I wept and not because my candidate lost. I wept because the whole country lost. I wept for my sisters across this country, for African Americans and Muslims and my LGBTQ friends. I wept because fear and hate and backwards thinking took over.
Fast forward to January, 2017. The 45th president has been inaugurated. And I accept this.
I accept that a new regime sits on Capital Hill and in the White House. But that doesn’t mean I’m alright with it. That doesn’t mean I accept their agendas.
This is why my sisters and brothers marched in Washington DC and Chicago and all over the world on Saturday. Because none of us are okay with this, though we accept the new president. He’s just not my president. And as Millstein and others have reminded us: our country is a democracy, so I can voice this.
I can voice that bigotry is not alright. I can voice that lying is not cool (alternative facts? really?). I can voice that women have the right to their own bodies. I can voice that a cabinet filled with men seeking their own agendas is not acceptable. I can voice that a woman who doesn’t understand education shouldn’t be sitting as head of the Department of Education. I can voice that banning Muslims is unacceptable. I can voice that fear and hate cause more problems than good. I can voice that putting up a wall is deplorable and down right uncalled for. I can voice that repealing a healthcare act before coming up with something better, therefore causing millions to suffer, is not okay. I can voice that the LGBTQ community doesn’t need conversion therapy, but rather love.
I can voice.
I have a voice.
My voice is powerful. Your voice is powerful. And we should use it.
I couldn’t march on Saturday with the thousands of women and men in Chicago. I wanted to but I couldn’t.
I wanted to march because my voice matters.
Again, I’ve accepted the fact that the new president is in office and lives in the White House. But that doesn’t mean I accept his agenda. That doesn’t mean I’m okay with his policies that send us backward, instead of forward. That doesn’t mean I’m okay with allowing other men to control my body. That doesn’t mean I’m okay with building walls and bigotry and hate and racism.
That doesn’t mean…Ugh…I can feel my soapbox getting a work out…
You get my point.
As a clergy woman, I’m careful with what I say and do politically. Though there are times, like now, that I need my voice heard. And I’ll be careful as to how that plays out. But I’m also a citizen and I will never be alright with the new POTUS or his VP. As long as evil is control, I will continue to voice and stand up for what I believe is right. I will buy Kellogg’s cereal at full price because they stood up against hate. I will make it known that all immigrants, Muslims, African Americans and more are welcome and loved. I will make sure that my sisters and brothers in the LGBTQ family are loved and safe. I will stand in the pulpit and preach a message of love, welcoming, good, and an end to hate.
I will Accept and Resist.
To all who think I should get over it and accept the state of things: Duh! I have.
So go ahead, call me names. I don’t care. Sticks and stones, baby.
But don’t tell me to get over it because I lost the election. Don’t tell me to be quiet or to stop marching or stop using my voice. And don’t call me a snowflake. I’m from Chicago. I know what snowflakes do.
Use your voice to talk to me, not at me.
Because for the next 4 years, I will use my voice to end hate and fear, to stand up for equality and against division.
therevamanda 