I stand for humanity and enough is enough

I will not stand for it.

This country is in complete shambles, and it’s time for us to take it back.

Listen, I know some of y’all are tired, and you don’t really have the energy to deal with the ridiculousness that is coming directly from the White House. Trust me, I get it. I was 3 months pregnant when President Obama was elected the first time. The next 8 years gave me a chance to get comfortable. I was inspired and empowered to find my voice and formally serve children and women.

The second time I was pregnant, I wasn’t so lucky. I just knew my son would be born into a country that had just elected its first woman president, but I was wrong. As I stood in line at the local burger joint the day after elections, I started to cry. I was scared for my children, my husband, our community, myself. I knew that life as we knew it in this country would forever be changed, but still, I held out hope.

Now, almost halfway through this horrible presidency, I know that hoping for the best isn’t going to change anything.

This administration has separated children from their families at the border. It has appointed an accused sexual abuser to the highest court of the land. A leaked memo shows a proposal to eliminate the transgender definition, virtually erasing an entire demographic of human beings. All of this and the thousands of instances of discriminatory practices stemming from the actions of the country’s leader have ignited me and I am fired up.

No more.

This country was built on the backs of my ancestors, and immigrants, and communities who were treated with the most hatred and disdain. Now they may not be slaves, but the most disenfranchised of us all are still working the hardest. Harvesters doing backbreaking labor in fields so we can eat. Working in warehouses or stocking stores overnight so we can indulge in retail therapy when it all gets to be too much. Taking care of families at hospitals in overnight shifts in cities they can’t even afford to live in.

It’s time to stand up.

For those of us who have any amount of privilege, we need to do something. Social media activism is a good start. Share important stories from reliable sites with your friends and family so that they truly understand the plight of so many of our fellow Americans. That’s just the beginning, though. We can’t stop there. None of us can. We have to learn to articulate exactly what we need people to do.

Vote.

Them.

Out.

And then we have to do the work of making sure people can actually get to the polls. We have to speak up and make calls to our government officials about voter suppression. Let them know that we see them and we aren’t standing for it. We have to make it hard for people who are filled with hate to spew their filth in our space.

Make.

Them.

Uncomfortable.

And if you’re a Christian, I’m holding you even more accountable to doing this work. Jesus’ entire platform (if you will) was rooted in justice for all. ALL. He loved the prostitute just as much (if not more) than He loved the virgin. How dare we use His word to discriminate and degrade another human being, our brother, sister, or sibling (for our non-binary family) in Christ?

Nope. Not on my watch.

I stand for love and acceptance, but will fight until I fall for my fellow humans.

ENOUGH.