This last year has been really tough as
I have faced the reality of how deeply our country is divided. Every election
that I have participated in have been pretty evenly split and I told myself that
our disagreements were mostly about policy. We disagreed on the morality of
abortion or the efficacy of welfare. We disagreed about whether “criminals”
could be reformed and about whether to approach the rest of the world from a
position of strength or of openness. I knew we were divided, but I wanted to
believe that the division was one that could be overcome through reasoned
dialogue.
This is not to say that I was unaware
of the continuing role of race and racism in America. I am a Black woman who
watched white girls in my prep school use drugs I had never heard of and never
face any jail time while Black youth in my neighborhood were locked up for
smoking marijuana. I have witnessed how people look nerviously fearful or
downright scornful when a woman in a hijab gets on the train. I have heard
people, even in my community, speak against folks with accents or resent people
who are speaking Spanish or Vietnamese. I just returned from Standing Rock to
be in solidarity with Native Americans who are fighting for the rights they are
already supposed to have.
I was not unaware of American racism, I was not unaware of our electoral division, but Donald Trump has shown me how deep the divide is. A year ago I would have said that speaking against a slain war hero was political suicide. I learned that if that person is Muslim – it is okay. I would have said that claiming you can force another country to pay for a policy that is against them is laughable. I learned that half of the country takes that seriously. I would have thought
I am a Black woman who wants to live in
a country where Muslims are free to practice their religion, where men who
grope women are shamed, where immigrants are respected, where our leaders speak
the truth and take responsibility for their words, and where we can disagree
with each other without suggesting that other person is stupid or deserves to
be beat down. I think of each of these things are basic parts of what makes our
country great and I don’t know what will happen to these basic American values
as there is a movement to “make America great again.”
At a deeper level I wonder what this
“Great America” will be like. Does it mean a return to the time when Black
people “knew their place” under Jim Crow laws? Will we go back to a time when
men were the “primary breadwinners” and women were mostly dependent on a spouse
for economic support? In this “Great America” will gay, lesbian and transgender
people live in fear for their lives or have to “suck it up” when people
discriminate against them?
In this election I never really found
my candidate. I never connected with Hilary because she represented an old way
of doing things that I feel needs to change. After being cussed out by a Green
Party volunteer I felt that they had no space for people like me. I didn’t really consider the libertarian candidate
because while I like some of their ideas, I couldn’t tell where he stood on a
number of issues that are important to me. And then there was Donald Trump and
his movement. I agreed that things needed to change, but all along it felt like
the change they wanted was to go back to a time when I was a second-class citizen. How can I agree with
change that doesn’t respect me or the people I love as human beings?
In the
next few days and months we are going to really understand what this “Make America Great Again” movement is really about. The truth is that I have a deep concern that
borders on fear. I believe deeply in God and will continue to pray for healing
in the aftermath of this contentious election, but it is hard for me to
understand what the future holds. So my question to the “Make America Great
Again” movement – Do you plans align with your Trump supporters like David Duke? Do you see me as part of your country or do you think you
would be better off without me? Until I know the answer to this basic question I
am not sure what country I have woken up to this morning. In the coming days I
will cautiously watch everything you say to understand if my life matters to your movement.
