We are in the same boat!

We are in the same boat!

By Nicole Nutting

      I used to sleep well at night, knowing our country was in the hands of an intelligent leader whose mission was to protect our citizens, whose policies were inclusive of all Americans, and whose intent was, above all, to uphold Democratic principles.

Nowadays a sense of dread taints my every waking moment. When the man in the red hat announced he would be “The President For All Americans” it was a hollow promise. President Trump has clearly shown that he cares nothing for the poor, the working class, the homeless, the sick or disabled, the people of color, the women, or the LGBT community. In actual practice, Trump is the president solely for the rarefied 1%— white, uberrich, Christian males.

After eight years of Obama, it’s shocking and demoralizing to be undermined by the new leader of the “Free” world. But the other 99% of us DO have one important thing in our favor—despite lack of support from the top, we have each other. Together we are the majority, hundreds of thousands of people strong. The survival of our civil rights may depend on our ability to come together to fight President Trump’s oppressive agenda.

You were probably surprised to see a White face at the top of this column, right? When we’re willing to challenge those ingrained responses, we can find allies in some unlikely places. If nothing else, Trump’s evil has shown us that it’s high time to have honest dialogues, from the heart, with people of differing backgrounds. In the current political environment we simply can’t afford to be tribal and insular. For the sake of our future, it’s imperative that we start to expand our comfort zones.

Imagine the impact if you men walked the next Women’s March to support your lady, if white folks routinely attended Black Lives Matter protests, if heterosexuals participated in Gay Pride parades. Our power, and our best revenge, is solidarity. Our would-be oppressors in Washington can’t win when we stand together and present a united front.

Personally, I’m in!  Will you join the community??