Tag: political

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A Quick Dose of Inspiration

The hits just keep on coming, don’t they? Most days I wake up and check my standard list of news organizations for the morning status report. Inevitably I get an overwhelming feeling of doom. BUT, I do my best to squish that feeling and decide which topic to focus on just for the day. Where are my efforts best applied?

The ongoing Muslim Ban, the reinstated global gag rule, the re-initiation of work on the Keystone pipeline, the continued fight to keep cartoon super villains out of the Cabinet, and now the nomination Neil Gorusch to be a Supreme Court Justice…it all makes my head spin. Thank goodness for the comedic stylings and wise words of Jon Stewart. Jon visited Stephen Colbert last night and did a dead-on impression of the 45th president reading a few of his upcoming executive orders. And there in the midst of the ridiculous costume, the jokes about narcissism, and off-script banter, came the words that settled me. Jon was speaking in the third person as DJT, so I cleaned up a few of the pronouns to make it easier to understand. Here is what he said:

It is going to take relentless stamina, vigilance, and every check and balance this great country can muster to keep DJT from going full Palpatine… We have never faced this before – purposeful, vindictive chaos. But perhaps therein lies the saving grace of [Trump’s] presidency. No one action will be adequate. All actions will be necessary. And if we do not allow DJT to exhaust our fight and somehow come through this presidency calamity-less and Constitutionally partially intact, then [Trump] will have demonstrated the greatness of America…just not the way [he] thought he was going to.

Yes, we have a really hard road ahead. Yes, it is going to be exhausting. But when you think about these words, and when you watch people from all walks of life coming together in protest, and when you see the support of organizations all across the country and around the globe…you can use that warm and fuzzy feeling as fuel to keep pushing forward. Keep resisting!!

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The Women’s March on Washington – I’m STILL Processing

July 26th, November 17th, July 2nd, January 21, 2017. My children’s birthdays, my wedding date, the Women’s March on Washington. These are the dates I will never forget as long as I live. I haven’t finished processing the events of the day just yet, but I have SO much to talk about that I couldn’t wait another minute to write the first post.

Let’s talk about how I feel right now.  I’m at about 48 hours post march as I’m writing.  I feel inspired.  I feel optimistic.  My heart is full of light and love.  I have a renewed energy. I feel a new and powerful connection with 3 million people I’ve never met.  I’m physically exhausted and mentally prepared to ACT.  The shirts my sister and I wore on Saturday say “we have been awakened”.  That about sums it up.

We may have been living in a bubble, but we aren’t anymore.  We are ready, willing, and able to fight.  And that’s what we are going to have to do…fight.  Fight for gender equity, LGBTQ rights, religious liberties, immigrants’ rights, women’s reproductive rights, for freedom of speech and freedom of the press and freedom to peaceably assemble, for clean water and clean air, for renewable energy, for prison reform and gun reform, for single payer health care and for the black Americans all across the country who are afraid of the people who are meant to protect them.

The list is long.  It feels overwhelming, yes.  But when you stop to realize that you are not alone, that 3 million of your closest allies have your back, it doesn’t seem overwhelming at all.  Whether you were on the ground in Washington, marching in one of the hundreds of Sister Marches around the world, or cheering us on from wherever you live, we all felt that energy.  It followed us home and we can’t let the energy fizzle…not even for one second.  We have been awakened and there’s no time for complacency anymore.

I’ll continue to talk more about the March in upcoming posts.  I’ll also start talking with you about how you can get involved in this fight yourself.  Whether you can commit 5 hours a week or 5 minutes a day, there is something you can do to help.  Check back soon for the next update and be sure to let me know your ideas for advancing the cause.

Show me what democracy looks like!

This is what democracy looks like!