Voices in Motion, Acts of Courage
I was working from home on November 8, 2016. I was sick with a cold and was trying to take it easy so it didn't turn into something worse. So in between naps and trying to get some work done, I was watching my Facebook feed fill up with people out voting. I live in Oregon where we vote by mail, so it was fun living vicariously through the people out at the polls and feeling some slight envy each time I saw an "I Voted" sticker.
I was addicted to the Pantsuit Nation Facebook page. I kept refreshing and reloading to see more and more women in their white pantsuits go and vote for one of the most qualified candidates this country has ever seen. Every story of a 85, 90, 102 year old woman going to vote for their first woman president brought tears to my eyes. Every story of a woman who felt her grandmother's or mother's presence there with her at the polls, who came out to vote for history, who brought their daughters and sons to watch history in the making, gave me chills. Basically, I was a weepy wreck.
But damn. I had never been filled with such hope, awe, and amazement before. As sick as I was, I was flying high.
As the polls started closing on the East Coast, my boyfriend convinced me that I had to leave the house for what we assumed was going to be a historic night. I donned my white suit coat over my "I'm With Her" t-shirt and headed to our local bar. We met friends. Everyone was drinking, eating, and chatting about the stories they had read that day. And then the results started coming in.
It was early. No one wanted to call anything until they were sure. (At least some had learned from previous mistakes....) My brother was out of the country, and I promised him I'd message him updates as they came in. But as more and more polls closed, it started to become clear what was happening. The bar got somber. My brother said he didn't want anymore updates. We paid our checks. We walked home. We put on some news channel until I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. And we went to bed, hoping that the world wouldn't be as bleak in the morning.
President Donald J. Trump. Hate, fear, and anger won the day. Or, at least, that's how it felt to me.
It is jarring to go from such a high, hopeful, invincible feeling, to one of such confusion, anger, and sorrow. It felt similar to when President Obama was first elected, but California passed Proposition 8, making gay marriage illegal in California. I was so elated to have elected our first black president, but could not understand how hate won that same day. And yet, here we were again.
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A shirt I ordered before the election, but arrived after the election...... |
In the weeks and months that followed, I kept asking--and kept hearing those around me ask--what do I do? What can I do? There is just so much to do.
And it can be an overwhelming question. For many of us, it feels like there is so much going wrong all at once: women's rights, minority rights, access to healthcare, voting rights, immigrant rights, civil rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, environmental protections, education, and on and on and on. Some of us are new to this feeling, while others have been dealing with it from administration to administration. With so much going wrong, it's hard to know where to start.
But, just as any journey, it starts with one step. It's the courage to start that is usually the hardest to muster. But once you take that first step, there is no telling where it'll lead you.
That's what I hope to do with this blog. Share stories of people that have taken that first step. People that put their voice in motion and engage in acts of courage. Big, small, and in between. And if you have a store to share? Reach out, I'd love to tell it.
We're all in this together. The more we share our stories, share our struggles, share our victories, and share our lessons, the further we can all go together. And with every story shared, we can trust in the notion that... tomorrow? Yes, tomorrow they'll be more of us.
(And yes, there will be many Hamilton quotes in this blog. Just deal with it.)
Let's rise up!
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