If you voted for Trump, I’ve spent the last few months hating you. I’ve hated you for prioritizing your privilege and economic interests over the common good. I’ve hated you for downplaying grossly racist, xenophobic, homophobic, and sexist campaign rhetoric and policy platforms by calling it “all talk”. Most of all, I’ve hated how you’ve tried to distance yourself from the ideologies of the man you elected to office by not acknowledging that he is simply delivering on the warped vision of America he built his campaign upon.
I’ve decided, however, that hating you is ultimately unproductive. At this point, it doesn’t matter whether you voted for him for economic or racist reasons—Trump is our president and that is a reality we must all deal with. We now have a president who is completely delusional and out of touch, a man who has called for a major investigation into nonexistent voter fraud. We now have a president who is trying to actively undermine and turn us against the press, a president who is trying to rule by inundating us with “alternative facts” and silencing any group that opposes him. We have put a fragile narcissist into office who is completely intent on bringing our country back a hundred years. It doesn’t matter now how he got into office, what matters is what we’re going to do about it.
Since his inauguration, Trump has directed the Department of Homeland Security to build the border wall with Mexico. He’s said he’s going to open an “Office for Victims of Crimes Committed by Removable Aliens” and pull federal funding from any sanctuary cities that protect humans he refuses to as “illegals”. He’s closing us off from the international community, targeting Muslims and women, and pursuing energy policies that will destroy our environment. He’s appointed cabinet members with no political experience and silenced the EPA and other organizations. In his first week, he’s shown us the kind of America he wants us to be, and it’s up to all of us—regardless of party affiliation—to voice our opposition.
If you voted for Trump, I won’t hold your vote against you. But I will hold you accountable for what you do going forward. Just because you voted for Trump does not mean you are obligated to say he is doing a good job as president. It is okay to say “I fucked up” and join hands with the people who are actively resisting him. It is okay to step outside party ideologies and push for sensible legislation.And as someone who voted for Clinton, I am going to hold myself accountable for bridging divisions and bringing together people who may not agree on every issue, but who can recognize the humanity we all have in common. I will hold myself accountable for taking action. I will not play the blame to excuse myself from making things better.
We can’t let party affiliations divide us when it comes to the common good. On some level, we are all in jeopardy because of Trump. You may not be able to recognize the danger right off the bat, but Trump’s policies—whether environmental or social—put current and future generations at risk. We cannot stand by and let Trump transform our country into a fascist state. We cannot stand by and let him destroy our country through misinformation and ill-informed environmental and international policies. We cannot stand by and let Trump dehumanize and victimize our fellow Americans. The only way we can survive Trump’s presidency is by taking everything he does as a personal attack. An attack on a Muslim American is an attack on every American. An attack on reproductive rights is an attack on every American. An attack on our environment and civil liberties is an attack on every American. Politics have never been more personal. It’s time we stand up to Mein Drumpf and show him that his vision for America is nothing more than a fever dream.
Is this why I'm still single? 