One month ago, I sat and watched the news as Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States of America. I woke up the next morning in a deep depression that has still not entirely lifted. Several times I tried to put my feelings into writing, with little success. I couldn't seem to find the sarcastic, quippy style that I generally enjoy. And it took me a month to figure out why.
This is not the time for sarcasm.
Now is not the time for silly little memes making fun of the size of his hands. It's not the time for late-night talk show monologues ridiculing the latest tweets. It's not the time for humor. It stopped being funny a month ago.
Now is the time for anger.
I find myself consumed by anger . I'm so angry I can barely stand it. I'm angry at everyone and everything that contributed to this despotic, repulsive excuse for a man being elected to the highest elected office in the country.
I'm angry at the DNC for rigging the primaries against Bernie Sanders. I'm angry at anyone who wrote in Bernie Sanders name on a ballot out of "protest". I'm angry at the media for being so obsessed with ratings that they completely overlooked the reasonable, sane candidates running for the Republican nomination.
I'm angry with the Republicans for immediately kowtowing and boot-licking once the nomination was confirmed. You knew what he was. We heard you condemning him for months. But out of some warped sense of "party loyalty" you turned your back on the American people and let this happen. Saving your cushy seats in Congress was more important than defending common decency. You are the worst kind of hypocrites.
I'm angry with all the so-called Evangelicals that voted for him. You knew what he was. He is the worst kind of false Christian. But of course, defending freedom of religion is all-important. As long as it's your religion and your beliefs that are being upheld. You are the embodiment of false charity. The Bible says that "You will reap what you have sown". I hope it is bitter.
I'm angry at Fox News, Breitbart, RedState, and every other right-leaning news outlet for their relentless fear-mongering and condemnation of President Obama for the past eight years. Just admit to yourself that you would rather dance on the grave of America rather than allow a black Democrat to succeed. Different perspectives are a key component of a healthy Democracy. You aren't showing different perspectives. You are deliberately and loudly spreading lies and hatred. You are an insult to your profession. You knew what he was. And you reveled in it. Have you no decency?
I'm angry at every single person I know that voted for him. To my family members who voted for him: I still love you. We are still family. But I'm having difficulty reconciling myself to the reality that you contributed to this ongoing nightmare. Because you knew what he was. In the beginning,you told me how ridiculous you thought he was. But somehow email scandals, fear, and hatred overruled common sense. You betrayed your own intelligence.
There is so much more that I could say. But at the end of the day, what does it achieve? Anger for the sake of anger itself does nothing except eat away at the person who bears it. So I'm not going to be angry anymore. It's simply not a productive state of mind.
Instead, I'm going to be active.
I now speak directly to Donald Trump, on behalf of anyone who has felt angry since the election.
To the President-Elect:
We are America. And we're pissed. We see you and we find you wanting. You are a malignant tumor on the soul of the country. You may think you've won. You haven't won shit. Wait and see. Because we're not just going to be angry. We're going to be active. We will do whatever it takes to stop you from dragging our country down. So every time you try to make America look more like the fascist, misogynist, racist, homophobic, Islamist dystopia that seems to be some kind of wet dream of yours, we'll be there. We will not be silent. We will resist.
If you try to round up immigrants and tear them away from their families, we'll be there. And we'll resist.
If you try to take away the right for a woman to make decisions about her own body, we'll be there. And we'll resist.
If you try to make America a less safe place for the LGBT community, we'll be there. And we'll resist.
If you ignore the needs of African-American communities and brush off their desperate desire to raise their families in peace, we'll be there. And we'll resist.
If you try to vilify the millions of peaceful Muslims contributing to American society, we'll be there. And we'll resist.
We are not going to be complacent. We will not stoop to your level. We will not spread lies, but truth. We will not encourage violence against those who disagree, but the free flow of information. In trickles or floods we will do everything we can to resist your poisonous agenda and maintain the core of American values. We do not fear you. But you should fear us. We will resist.
You've just been elected to the highest elected office in the United States. This position commands respect and dignity. Get off Twitter and go do your job. Stop making your cabinet look like you threw some darts at a Forbes list. Stop attacking anyone who disagrees with you. You duped a lot of people into thinking that you were going to "Make America Great Again". So get off your ass and go do it. You have this one, razor-edge chance to prove us wrong.
Next month, when you enter the White House, you will already have disgraced every, better man who stood there before you. You don't deserve to lay your head down in the White House. I hope you never get a decent night's sleep.
Feel free to share this. Don't give up. Don't give in.
-Ashley
#resist
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