D19
After the Trump Election I was lost and confused as to what message we are sending to our children and to the world. In the wake of things I kept thinking, what next...what can I do. Last time the popular vote didn't elect the president was in 2000 when Bush won the electoral college and Gore won the popular vote. I didn't do anything or protest back then thinking it didn't matter, but then a few years later I had to protest the war in Iraq
This time I do not want to wait and see which one of his horrible promises he intends to keep and which action I would have to protest. I decided to try and be proactive, I finally jumped on facebook and social media to find out what other people are doing to resist / protest this presidency. I ended up getting involved with the #D19 movement to try and affect change in the electoral college and to say that we are the majority. I volunteered to make signs and to photograph the event. Some may say that the protests on Decmeber 19th were a failure since Trump still got the electoral college votes and won the presidency, but I would like to think different. We were able to organize a nationwide protest that occurred at the capitol in every state on the same day for the same cause - 7,000 people gathered across 50 states to share the single message, this is our democracy and we will not sit back and watch it be destroyed. Although we did not get 37 electors to become faithless and not vote for Trump, 6 electors did vote with their conscience and went faithless. To me that is a win, we proved that it can be done, we were able to affect some change when usually no electors go faithless. The 4 democratic electors sent a message to the DNC that they wanted Bernie, and the 2 GOP electors said that they do not stand behind Trump.
And We sent a message that we will stand up because:
we have been marginalized,
we love our veterans, POWs and all military families,
we believe in science and climate change,
we do not approve of a government that violates human rights,
we respect our differences,
we want equality,
we tell our kids to stand up for what they believe in,
we are united,
and our voice counts and our votes should count:
What I took away from this experience is that there still is hope. There are people out there that are willing to speak up for those who can't or don't know how. The hope and change that we were promised is still there, but we just have to make it happen for ourselves. There are a number of grassroots movements rising up trying to make a difference and hoping to fix what's broken. I don't know much about politics or social activism (or social media for that matter), but I'll continue to do what I can when I can whether it be volunteering in whatever role I am capable of, sharing something on social media or just showing up at a rally for what I believe in. Hopefully we can inspire or motive others into action as well. The next rally that I am getting involved with is the National Womens March on January 21st. Hopefully you will attend.
The people who attended the last march are everyday people like you and me. They are your brothers, sisters, moms & dads, family and friends, your coworkers, your students, your neighbors.
