Day 298 - We are Taking America Back

Mr. President,

Photograph from Unsplash

The 2017 off-year election results are in, and sir, I have bad news for you. It seems that your racist, misogynistic, homophobic, nationalistic, isolationist policies aren’t actually that popular. Sure, you talked and tweeted a big game as you threatened to destroy every policy that your predecessors had put in place. Sure, the white nationalists have been ranting and chanting, as you have empowered them to unify against every attempt to move our country towards equity and equality. Sure, you still have an excellent chance of destroying opportunities for our citizens to have affordable health care, access to higher education, quality reproductive rights, and equity and equality under the law. Sure, there’s even a good chance that you will walk us into war with your ridiculous need to one-up every world leader in your childish Twitter tantrums. BUT, it turns out that the MAGA policies that are near and dear to your tiny shriveled heart are actually not representative of what the people want.  Because the people voted a week ago, and what they voted for should make you a bit queasy.

For example, the American people elected Democrat Danica Roem in Virginia. She will be “the only openly transgender state lawmaker in America,” and she beat Bob Marshall, a man obsessed with which bathrooms transgender people are allowed to use. It turns out, sir, that Virginia recognizes that a person’s willingness to serve their country is much more important than their genitalia and which bathroom they use. Perhaps you could learn a lesson from the American people and slowly back away from your attempts to ban transgender people in the military from serving our country. It turns out that no one really cares about their gender; what we care about is their willingness and desire to serve.

The American people voted, sir, and they voted against you and your racist and misogynist and isolationist policies. They elected Democrats to gubernatorial positions in New Jersey and Virginia; they voted for Democrats in mayoral races across the nation, including a black mayor in Minnesota and a black woman as mayor in Charlotte, NC. They voted for expanded Medicaid coverage in Maine; they elected Latina and Asian-American delegates in Virginia. They elected transgender candidates in various races in Virginia, Minnesota, California, and Pennsylvania. And in Montana, they elected a refugee from Liberia to be their mayor. Perhaps you could learn a lesson from the American people and slowly back away from your attempts to build walls, ban travel, and limit immigration. This country is a melting pot of all races and religions; even the Drumpfs were successful not because they single-handedly built an empire but because this country embraced and encouraged immigration and opportunity.

The American people voted, and they voted against you. But we will not stop and celebrate for too long. We will not lose momentum. We still have a lot to do, to make sure that this country moves in the right direction: far, far away from you. Your blatant racist, misogynistic, homophobic, nationalistic, isolationist beliefs have been given way too much air time, but we will double down, to ensure that you are hobbled in your attempts to destroy what this country stands for. Because this country stands for freedom and equality and equity. It stands for opportunities for all. It offers a safe haven for the poor, the tired, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Sir, your time in the spotlight is waning. You promised to drain the swamp, but it turns out that your drained swamp stinks of raw sewage.

We are taking this country back and your days are numbered. We are finding our voices and our unified voices are so much louder and more coherent than yours could ever be. Your voice is old and tired and your policies are outdated, uneducated, and unthoughtful. You, sir, are the past, and we are the future. It’s time for you to listen to the people and serve us—or step aside. Because this land is our land, and we will make sure that our land is welcoming to all and supportive of all. Our America already is great and it will be even greater—with or without you. Our America is moving forward, and we refuse to be borne back ceaselessly into the past. We refuse to be destroyed by nostalgia and an irrational fetishization of our racist, misogynistic, homophobic history. The days of the good ol’ boys are over. The days of We the People have arrived.

We are finding our voices.

We are the future.

United.

For All.

We are the majority.

Sincerely,

Letters2Trump

(Originally posted at Letters2Trump.)