Candles in the dark

I felt that I should take a minute to look at all the candles, the small flashlights and torches and lighthouses in an otherwise overwhelmingly dark time. Whether or not Trumplethinskin wants us to, I've noticed a big trend: America is moving forward without him. Scientists have just done groundbreaking research by reversing previously incurable diseases thanks to the use of stem cells and gene therapy. The Boy Scouts have just let transgender boys join them. Planned Parenthood and the UCLA have received huge donations. We have a resistance movement lead by park rangers, NASA, and Shia LeBouf. Women are standing up en mass, not just around the country, but around the world, to declare that we deserve equal treatment, better healthcare, and the right to not be constantly harrassed and to feel safe. Many of these other countries have also responded to Trump in humorous ways which gives me hope for the world--that there are good people and good countries out there who are willing to voice their opinions right along with us as we yell "no more!" and "Not my president!"

Many of these people, including people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, are in positions to really affect change, and they're doing all they can to make that happen; they're voting against Darth Orange's appointments, supporting protesters, loudly voicing dissent, even bringing Der Trumpenfurher's tweets to congressional meetings. And whereas we may have once disagreed about religious ideology or whatever, we are now banded together to protect our brothers and sisters of other religions from the persecution we have seen so much of in the past. We have been brought together and reminded that we are all connected, we are all together in this fight. Actually, I find myself agreeing with statements by normally far-right individuals like John McCain; he put out a statement with Lindsey Graham about how we can no longer torture people and that restricting immigration is unamerican and some other things. Here is the statement in its entirety:

“Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation. “It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump’s executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security. “Such a hasty process risks harmful results. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children. “Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.”

And can I just say how weird it is that I agree with republicans? Like. That says something.

We are not alone. These past few months have helped me personally to weed out people who buy into only the far right's rhetoric of "Hurr but emails!" etc. and really learn who the more intelligent (sorry; it's true) critically thinking people are in my life--those who have read enough dystopian novels or studied history enough (or both) to recognize patterns that are emerging right now.

If you are one of those intelligent, well-read, critically-thinking people who knows that our country needs to more forward with progessive ideals instead of set back by fear mongering and "alternative facts" (sigh.) I just want to thank you. Though I usually crawl into myself and hide, right now, I want to give you all big hugs and cry on your shoulders. Kindness, speaking out, defending your fellow human, and just..... well, being nice is what we need right now as a country. No, niceness will not change Drumpf's actions, nor will it help the millions of displaced individuals, nor will it help me get my goddamn free birth control back (I literally have to have that to be healthy) but it's a start, and the personal is, after all, political. Honestly, after a thorough review of our system, I think that being nice is the only way to change things at all. Thanks to gerrymandering, our votes are mostly useless. Districts are already drawn based on the voting patterns of the individuals in that district, and they're constantly redrawn in favor of their own party's interest, so they get to pick what the district looks like based on who will vote for them, assuring they stay in office. It's pretty much BS. Then the (usually) republican elected governors and such will head to congress after essentially rigging the elections in their favor and get bought by lobbyists in exchange for certain laws and regulations passed. This is why the US is the way it is today. Money and cheating. So voting, while a good idea, is probably useless. I think this is why it's so, so important to be nice these days. Perhaps we can change peoples' minds about how they vote, and then all that gerrymandering will have been for nothing; the votes actually WILL count and then, perhaps, change can happen. But most importantly, try to focus on the positive. The majority of this country is still on our(?) side. People with a brain see what's happening and know about its devastating effects. And that, at least, stands for something. Now give me a damn hug.