Let x=Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
First, let me establish that I have enjoyed the Obama years more than any other political term I have lived through. Barack Obama presided over this country’s highest office with more class and intellect than any president in recent history. The man is smart. The man is moral. The man is level-headed. He will truly be remembered as one of the greatest presidents of all time, and I am truly privileged (oh, not that word) to have lived through the experience.
Much to my enduring dismay, Obama’s Presidency is over. While there are many things I would have liked to see him focus on, President Obama achieved tremendous things given the hand he was dealt. Not only did he achieve these amazing accomplishments, he did it with candor, compassion, and class. He did it in spite of a Congress that was, in most ways, arrayed against him. He shrugged off intolerably racist comments made directly against him. He did it in spite of an obstructionist opposing political party. When nobody else could make up their minds what to do, he quietly and efficiently led the country forward.
On 20 January 2017, all of this ends. Donald Trump promises to upend national politics. He has already done so in many ways. Obama’s departure, and the introduction of the Donald Trump infection, mean that everything changes. Please read the next sentence carefully, and if you have not already done so, internalize it:
All those who would promote Liberal Democratic politics must change as well.
We now have the inverse of that. Where Obama was a force for good, Trump is a force for evil. Where we were once respected by the World, we are now laughed at. Where we were trusted, we are now feared. Where we worked to help all of our citizens, we now only further the gains of the rich and powerful. Where we used to work to address Global Warming, we now will exacerbate the problem for short term monetary gain. Our government has been turned inside out...inverted. To quote one of my favorite movies, Blade Runner, “All these moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain”.
Where in the past you would have opted for the moral high ground, you will no longer be able to rely on a reasonable opponent. Where you would rather not stoop to the level of a playground bully, you must use every dirty trick you can think of. Where you would rather differentiate yourself from the masses around you, you must unite with the masses against those who would do us all harm. Where you would formerly assume that your rights are covered by Constitutional mandate, you must fight for even the most basic rights Americans were granted. Where you used to lean on indisputable truth, you must now fight an opponent that is willfully ignorant, and operates by deception and untruths.
Everything changes. If you don’t change with it, every single positive civil and social bit of progress we’ve made in the past 80 years will (not could; will) disappear. Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking that this new regime wouldn’t dare to touch the haloed programs that, in some cases, are relied on by more than 80% of citizens in this country. Please don’t believe that if we simply put real effort into understanding the issues facing the denizens of Rural America that we can all come together and work this out. The Truth will no longer set us free. A climate denier is the head of the EPA. A paranoid conspiracy theorist is the new National Security Advisor. If you think that this one single president can’t actually cause worldwide problems, you’re deluding yourself. But that’s actually not a big deal. The harm this regime does on environmental legislation will likely ensure that the world itself won’t have to deal with human beings any longer.
If all of that isn’t enough to scare you, simply imagine that Congress is entirely controlled by the Republican Party. This is the same party that seeks to defund Planned Parenthood, reverse Roe vs. Wade, gut Medicare, eliminate welfare, and reintroduce prayer in public schools, eliminating the barriers between Church and State.
We cannot simply hope for the best. We cannot try to trust that the opposition has our best interests in mind. We cannot assume that they won’t cause the system to eat itself. We must fight. We must fight to win. We must obstruct initiatives that are counter to our interests. We must give our time, our money, and lend our intellects. We must defend the freedom of the press. We must not be cowed or intimidated. If we do any measure less than that, we could very well usher in the end of America’s pre imminence, and the eventual decline of our way of life. If not for you, fight for the future of generations to come.
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