Dear Privileged America,
It is 2016, and your people are broken. Your system is corrupt. Your water is dirty, your air is polluted. You are burning bridges more often than you build them. Every day you are one step closer to imploding. That begs the question: What happens in November? What happens to us if you elect a man that stands for everything America isn't. A liar. A cheater. A racist, cowardly, unintelligent, con artist.
Our world will be over.
This is a call for change. It is a plea; a cry for help. It isn't too late. We are a beautiful country. Not because of our foundation, but because of our diversity.
Still, we are in danger. But let this be clear: "We" does not include you right now. You are in no danger. You will wake up each morning completely unaffected by the changes that will occur. You will eat your breakfast, drink your coffee, and watch us on the news.
If you aren't "we," you must be wondering who else could possibly be important enough to be part of such an inclusive word.
We are...
black, we are white, we are Mexican and every minority. We are the children of undocumented immigrants — no, we are the children of hard workers. We are gay men and women whose right to love freely is at stake. We are transgendered people that fear doing something as simple as using the bathroom. We are women — not "dogs" or "fat pigs" — and we are worth more than our bodies, the bodies you are trying to control. We are victims of rape who get shamed while your white kid gets defended in court for violating us. We are refugees who just want a safe place to call home. We are 20-somethings who can barely afford rent, even though we work forty plus hours a week. We are newly married couples who want to adopt, but can't, because "kids of same-sex parents are more prone to mental illness." What is that illness exactly? Love. We are drug addicts who want nothing more than to be clean, but are thrown in jail instead of treated for our illness. We are black men and women, killed at two and a half times the rate of you. We are teenagers who wake up each morning, dreaming of the day we don't wake up, because their parents are forcing us to attend conversion therapy for the "sin" that we aren't committing. We are peaceful protesters met by the brutal hands of your police, who just don't know when to stop. We are students so crippled with debt that we would have been better off not furthering our educations, but we had to, because you told us that without it, we are lazy, useless, nothing. We are the elderly. We are the retirees who fear that we won't be able to receive the medical assistance we need. We are the poverty stricken, the inner-city, the homeless, who desperately need a chance to thrive. We are the grandparents who fear that our grandchildren will be raised in a world that knows no love. We are the immigrants whose families are at risk of being torn apart simply because we lack a few pieces of paper. We are veterans who don't get the health care or recognition we deserve, but instead are belittled by a man you want as our president- a man who had multiple deferments because he couldn't handle fighting for the country he now wishes to run. We are the police force, being militarized because of the stigma surrounding black people. We are Orlando, Sandy Hook, Dallas, and every other city tortured and defeated because of a lack of gun safety. We are here. We are valid. We are fighting.
Dear Privileged America,
It is 2016, and we demand change.
