As President Obama transitions to his
role as citizen, and as President Trump transitions to his role as leader
of the free world, I urge everyone to not lose hope.
We are, after all, the same country
that showed up in record numbers to elect President Obama. Twice.
We are the same country that not only
elected an African-American to the highest office in the country, but also gave
him a majority in Congress when he took office. That congress, in turn, allowed
us to pass Obamacare, Wall Street Reform, Student Loan Reform, and save our
economy from another Great Depression.
Time and time again, we have seen the
power of our voices. We have seen how much change we can enact when we make our
voices heard and engage in our political process.
Yes, this past election sucked. And
yes, we had 3 million more Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton than Donald
Trump. But I believe a primary reason we lost the Presidency is because we did
not get engaged and involved in the political process early enough.
And in doing so, we also gave the
President-Elect a majority in Congress. That congress, in turn, will confirm
his radical and unqualified cabinet-members. That congress, in turn, will
repeal Obamacare; deregulate our markets and revert back to the failed economic
policies of the Bush Administration. That congress, in turn, will not fight for
climate change. That congress, in turn, will weaken the progressive issues that
President Obama has championed.
But it is with this challenge that
– WE the people – must organize and engage ourselves. It is up to us to fight
against the injustices and intolerance from our new President and his
Administration.
WE the people must vote in
elections – not just for our Presidents, but also for our council members, our
mayors, our congress members, and our governors.
WE the people must volunteer for
political campaigns and social causes.
WE the people must not normalize
racism and bigotry and, instead, speak up and speak out.
WE the people must hold our elected
representatives accountable, and call out members so they never forget who they
are working for.
We have seen how successful this
strategy can be. Just recently – when Republicans tried to dismantle the Office
of Congressional Ethics – we saw people organize, make calls to their
representatives, speak up and speak out. Within 24 hours, Republicans reversed
their proposal.
It is always easy to sit idly by on
the sidelines, and complain that our leaders are not doing enough. It is always
easy to take the path of least resistance, hoping that justice will fall gently
on your lap.
But justice, equality, and fairness
never come easy. As President Obama said in his farewell address:
“Our democracy is
threatened whenever we take it for granted. All of us, regardless of party,
should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic
institutions…All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting
the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of
power happens to be swinging.”
YES. WE. CAN.
