I can’t march with women all over the United States and other parts of the world who are sending President Donald Trump a message. We are not going back to the old days when women were second class citizens. But I can write and join my voice with theirs. The days when the Great White Male prevailed in grand militaristic and authoritarian style are over. Blessed be the great men of justice and peace whose day must come. And blessed be the women who have overturned centuries of injustice against women, other minorities, and people of all faiths or no faith who understand that the world belongs to all of us . We stand together.
Let this be a day of rejoicing for today, we have once again found our voice. When President Trump points to the crowd and declares that “This is the day that the people controlled this nation.” and again, “A nation exists to serve its citizens.” let it be so. Women are in the streets to claim our voice. We are half the people and we are related to the other half. We are citizens and sympathizers, and we are grateful for the eight amazing years President Obama served our nation in spite of all attempts to boycott his work.
We are not going away. We are not turning back time. Not after all the energy it took to help make America great in moral leadership and vision. When we return from the streets to our homes, we will be living full lives and watching and working toward a United States that does not veer from its democratic path, its progress toward inclusion, and its respect for nations pursuing peace even as we must.
We are beyond living in a time when the privileged few can flaunt their wealth as if it mattered. They will be judged as we all will be by the moral compass by which we live, not the power we exert. Being first is an empty, if not ridiculous, goal. Life is not a sport. Cooperation, working together for the common good is more to the point of survival with meaning and the gateway to inner joy.
So we flaunt the people’s power as we crowd the streets of our nation to protect our freedom. Not everyone stands where we stand. We are a divided nation. But be sure of this. We care about everyone’s freedom and the protection of our democratic way of life for everyone. If there are broken places, let’s fix them. But for God’s sake and humanity’s soul, we are not returning to patriarchal power under the guise of Patriotism.