Politics: This is Now Personal

We are living in unprecedented times. It’s been said over and over since March as the world battles to survive the corona virus pandemic. Unless you’re old enough to remember the Spanish flu pandemic after WWI, then the corona virus pandemic is the first time we’ve truly experienced a crisis such as this; the world, for all intents and purposes, shut down. Only the absolute essential workers continued to work while everyone else was quarantined in their homes.

You are living in a historic moment right now. Not only for the pandemic, but also for the political movement taking place.

For Americans, we are experiencing what Europeans experienced in the early 20th century.

We are living under who is quickly becoming a tyrant, dictator.

We are past the days that we can “agree to disagree” about politics. The time for that has long since passed.

Supporting our current president and his platform is now an act against human decency…against civil and environmental rights. It’s a vote against everyday Americans who are struggling to survive. It’s against every non-White American who has done nothing wrong, but yet they find themselves segregated through systematic racism. It’s against women’s rights and their bodily autonomy. It’s against the LGBTQ+ community.

Slowly, it’s becoming a vote against free speech.

The man running our country has played upon the ignorance of our country. He’s not in the least bit religious, but he caters to Christian conservatives who want to take away equal rights for anyone LGBTQ+. He plays on the hatred towards these members, immigrants, non-whites, and many more groups. He’s made fun of a disabled reporter on live tv before he was even elected. He has made it “ok” to sexualize women and sexual harassment.

We’re discussing a man who, when he doesn’t like what the news reports, calls it fake news. He has called Nazis and members of the KKK “good people.” He’s even used a slogan created by an anti-Semite in regards to the civil rights movement, Black Lives Matter, that is currently taken place.

He has stunningly tricked a large population of Americans into supporting him. They willingly find excuses for his behavior, no matter how outrageous it my be. He’s played on the idea that we need to make America great again. Which America does he refer to? One where we had a respectable president who led our country with dignity? Who didn’t feel the need to have tantrums through Twitter? Who didn’t spew hate every time he spoke?

No. His America is the America of hatred, who made anyone who wasn’t a white man second or lower in society. The Civil Rights Movement happened decades ago, and yet we’re still fighting for black Americans to have equal rights. His America is one where the police run rampant, killing black Americans for simply being. One where gun rights and freedom to go into public without masks is more important than our children or public health. His America is one where violence is supported, even advised. His America is where his word is law, that the media can’t be believed. And so many, too many, willingly follow behind him.

We’ve seen these things in history, placed against various backgrounds around Europe with somewhat similar outcomes…with a couple of exceptions. The world saw Hitler rise, and no one took him seriously enough to consider how much trouble he could cause. Who cared what he spewed about Jews? He wasn’t that powerful. Or Mussolini who became best friends with Hitler, who allowed that harmless man to take over Italy? What about Franco? Castro? Jong-un?

Have we learned nothing?

Our country’s future is at stake.

We are on the verge of a civil war, another one, over so many topics that I’ve begun to lose count. We’re living in a pandemic, but people feel their freedom to enjoy bars and beaches are more important than the public safety of everyone, including our vulnerable population. I have family that absolutely vow that wearing masks is not only unnecessary, but it’s illegal to force us to wear one. It’s embarrassing to have a large number of people protesting, with guns in hand, at a city’s capital because they’re told to wear a mask. We’re at war with a deadly virus; they’re not being asked, like their fathers and grandfathers, to go to war in a foreign country. They’re only being asked to stay at home and wear a mask in public. Quite frankly, if this was Venice during the plague we would be screwed.

Thousands of protestors have taken to the street across the country, leaking out into the world, to protest police brutality. A majority of protestors were peaceful while a handful of protestors, and people simply taking advantage of the situation, looted and destroyed property. Instead of acknowledging the reason people are protesting, people have pointed out the looters, trying to take that fraction of people as a reason they can’t support the Black Lives Matter movement. Others won’t support it because they believe black Americans are seeking out reparations for their enslaved ancestors; they don’t, won’t, or can’t understand what white privilege is. They hear this term and assume it means their lives are better and they’ve never suffered. That’s wrong. White privileged means the color of your skin simply didn’t make life harder for you. Don’t even mention how white men are more privileged than white women. They won’t hear of it.

They don’t or refuse to understand that black Americans want to get rid of the systemic racism that’s still in place today, which keeps a good number of black Americans in poverty. Their children lack opportunities, some simply being a good grade school education. The people who refuse to support this movement can’t understand that black Americans are tired of being harassed and murdered because of the color of their skin. Breonna Taylor, for example, did nothing that caused her death; she was asleep in her bed.

I’ve heard multiple people refer to the George Floyd killing. As he’s essentially become the face of the movement, his death seems to be the most talked about. Personally, I see this being only because his death was so widely broadcasted through videos on social media. You could watch his death and hear his dying words. It hit a mark with so many people. However, I’ve heard more people than I could count say his death doesn’t matter because he was a criminal. They begin to list his charges, whether they’re accurate or not. They discount his death and his face of the Black Lives Matter movement as being unimportant. He had a past, and no one has ever contested otherwise. His past did not become the reason why he was killed; a policeman, who he knew from work at a club, simply killed him for the color of his skin.

People are too quick to hold a group of bad people against the entire race or religion. Muslims are all terrorists, no matter who they are. Black Americans are all criminals, and they’re the ones that keep themselves impoverished. Chinese people are why everyone is sick. Hispanics are all illegal immigrants who should stay in their own country, no matter if they really are legal or were born here. These are just some of the examples of what I continue to hear. It’s become a common theme in Trump’s America…this use of hatred.

By speaking whatever is on his mind, Trump has normalized hatred in our society. Of course, it’s always been there underneath everything, or we wouldn’t have systemic racism. Before, the hatred was mostly unspoken because it was viewed as bad to spew hatred or racism in public. At the very least, society had made it frowned upon. Now, people are given the ok to speak their mind, no matter how much hatred is there. We’ve become a country fighting within itself again, half of the population wanting to “make America great again” and white and the other half determined to exorcise hatred out and make our country better.

History has taught us how to stand up to bullies, and what happens when we don’t. We learned the hard way that treating a suspicious leader as harmless is never the solution. Over 6 million people lost their lives by Hitler’s regime. That doesn’t even include the troops that were killed. Did we learn nothing as Hitler and Goebbel took over media and spread their own message? That is practically what Trump is doing. He’s persuaded an incredible portion of the country into believing there is fake news and real news; what he says is real, and what most newspapers and reporters report is fake. It’s incredibly dangerous for this to take place, especially when Trump is quick to deny something or pass the blame only to change his mind later on. People I’ve spoken to refuse to accept the facts, that you’re practically waving in their face. Currently, fake news reports the corona virus is a hoax. Now, a large portion of our country wants to walk around mask-free, bask in the sun on packed beaches, and party with their friends at bars. Our president assures everyone our positive cases would decline if we stop testing people. Read that again. I’m not lying.

So, we’re not in a place that we can agree to disagree about politics. It’s become personal to so many Americans. I’d argue more personal than ever before. You can’t vote the 2nd Amendment and not the person running. You can’t vote Green Party because of your morals when that party, at the moment, has no chance. It’s time to put your family members and close friends in the shoes of everyone his administration attacks: women, non-whites, the disabled, the elderly, college students….and more. Put a family member in the shoes of someone in one of those categories. It’s not that difficult. Now, consider how you would vote for their protection. If you can’t consider that and take a chance of opening your mind, then we are in a crisis.

Lastly, never be afraid to learn more. It’s never too late to change your mind, to be more open to information, and admit your previous mistakes. If you ignored the warning signs in 2016, then you have a chance now. You’re not a hypocrite by changing your mind. No one will attack you for that. Everyone makes mistakes, and it’s good for us to learn from them.

Learn the right language and become an ally to groups, like the LGBTQ or blacks. It’s not their job to teach you anything, but be open and listen when they decide to speak. I am still learning as I go long on what terms groups prefer.

Try not to attack people, but open your ears and listen. Have a respectful debate. Use appropriate, respectful language. You don’t have to be nasty to debate.

Fact check everything you read and hear. Use credible sources, like AP news. There’s a variety of resources out there that teaches you how to fact check and what sources are credible. Make a habit of second-guessing everything until you have fact checked.

Register to vote. Find your state’s registration deadline online. For Maryland, it’s October 13th. If you choose to switch parties, do so as early as possible.

Respect each other. Care for one another. Protest peacefully, and let your voice be heard. Consider your family, neighbors, children when thinking about political topics. Consider the effect of certain bills you hear about.

Never, ever stop learning. Never, ever close your mind to other ideas out there.

And vote. Please, please vote. Even if you don’t think your vote matters. Utilize your city’s transportation services that are free on Election Day if you can’t get out. Or register to vote early. Wear your mask. Stand in line to vote if need be. Just vote.