"We" The People...
November 8th, 2020
[Penned November 2020
Revisited September 2024]
"We" The People....
It is wonderful to have prospects that our country can potentially work with, that will remove us from a leader who had no desire to respect humanity at large. This matters to me. However, the part that troubles me the most, that has always troubled me, is that I have lived 44 years of my life in concern or fear of people because of my race or gender.
That's an entire lifetime.
"We" have learned so much about ourselves as a country in the past four years. "We" have learned that the presidential race has been so close that some states may need to do a recount. For a country where we deem ourselves to be civil and humane, this should be a reveal. If "we" are as great a country, as many have deemed us to be, then this presidential race should not have been this close. Many thought that the last four years of blatant hate, xenophobic, racist and overall malevolent rhetoric and demonstrations should've reduced the naysayers to a bare minimum, and for the rest of us, this would validate a very necessary, but well known and unfortunate claim. "We" wanted to believe that there were fewer people around who would continue to subscribe to the ideologies of a sick, twisted union that many of us have been aware of for decades/centuries, for any reason, especially after everything about it had been made clear.
"We" were wrong.
What is also clear, is that the changing of the guard did not press “delete” on the people responsible for placing the 45th president in office, nor did it give us a reset. These people elected the 45th president into office and they were willing to do it again after everything that was on full display. No one could feign ignorance after these four years of open show. These people are our neighbors, family members, friends, etc. THEY...ARE...US. Trump did not happen by accident, nor overnight. This doesn't excuse his behavior, but highlights the greater issue. The thought processes and machinations that drive our nation have been active ever since our country was founded, even before the founding of the nation and they are still active today. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Read a book. Talk to a friend and really, LISTEN. There are people that are dead set on this belief, that a reasonable portion of us should not share in the very basic notions of living that they simply have, because of one's race, country, religion or gender, for starters. Trump, while he certainly fanned the flames, did not start the fire. "We" are primarily responsible for this prevalent evil that besets us. As "we" focus outward, “we” should acknowledge that these problems are not limited to the USA, as this is a very global issue. Colonialism is racism's proud father. Here is yet another wake up call to us and to the world, to re-evaluate our ethics and morals.
"We" should not tolerate people who are committed to not seeing people as simply people/human for any reason. Life and the ability to simply live, to just be, is not up for debate. I will not argue with another human about my right to exist. No one should need to do this. Again, Trump did not start the many issues within our country, as I stated and Biden and Harris will simply not be enough to fix all of these issues, alone. It helps considerably to have good leadership, because absent of this, we saw that we are as good as a rudderless ship in a storm. Know this, "we" will always be one election away from the worst type of leadership or governmental structure or “we” can be one election away from one that is sufficient. These are choices. There are fellow country persons who will not forget what has happened and as far as they are concerned, their ideology is right and everyone else has it wrong. They will pay us back for this.
This happens every four years. We paddle the ball back and forth. The difference is, that inhumanity was truly on the table for all to see and could not be ignored. Pay attention to why the senator run-offs in Georgia are so critical and that "we" are still having the challenge that some of our congressional leaders don't think highly of human rights. It's not simply politics that are on the table. "We" will have to fix our country. "We" will have to make the right choices, put forth the necessary efforts to be better people. "We" must change how “we '' think about one another in order to dismiss racial lies, implicit biases and stereotypes taught from generation to generation. "We" must learn and cling to truths about the people in our societies around us, to actively work against hatred and fear. “We” must actively commit to work against those who see racism, xenophobia, sexism, violence against our LGBTQIA+ community, and violence against people because of their religion as an option, no matter where “we” are or who/where they are. "We" are sick as a nation, and "we" really need to do something about this disease of hate, fear-mongering and self-centered thought.
What the last four years has revealed, especially if "we" were filled with apathy, is that the others have been right. That there is a reasonable sizing of our country, willing to harm the other people in our country and "we" really don't need to entertain their reasons why. What "we" also simply cannot afford is to pretend to not see or hear the suffering of humanity. The time to step up is not when it only begins to affect you. That's too late and this is not how caring works. "We" have also learned that "we" are so much better when "we" actively listen to one another. That "we" can prevent so much harm. That "we" are our brother's and sister's keeper. In the last year especially, we've learned that "we" literally can shape the landscape of our nation for the better. That our vote and our voices also count. That kindness goes a long way. So does solidarity. So does a strong sense of community coupled with community efforts. Whatever good you can do, do it. Nothing is too great nor too insignificant. Use whatever abilities, gifts, talents you have and most of all, use your heart.
"We" have so much work to do.✌
#thepeoplehavechosenempathy #EPluribusUnum #WeThePeople #endracism #silenceiscomplicity #liftyourvoice #EndXenophobia #stophate #stopimplicitbias #Iammybrothersandsisterskeeper #fighthate #choosekindness
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