Throughout politics in the 1900s, it's easy to track the shift between right and left-leaning politics in response to various historical events.
After World War II, the changing culture in the states leads to a huge divide between traditional values and forward thinking. This was followed by the biggest Civil Rights movement the country had ever seen. After waning throughout the '70s, conservatives fought back in the '80s, dominating politics with evangelical views. For a while, that was the most extreme enforcement of conservative values ever before in response to the AIDS crisis, lavender scare and Roe v. Wade.
Until now, that is.
In the wake of the first Black President society over corrected hard, which produced the toupee-clad, Cheeto-puff of a person that sits in the office today.
It's no secret that many of Trump's attitudes, methods and opinions mirror the behavior of major historical dictators like Hitler and Stalin. Research from political scientists, historians, psychologists, and sociologists supports this. So, violence, discrimination, and violations of civil rights have increased correspondingly.
During the Obama administration, I fell victim to rape. After recovering from that, I decided to reclaim my power and became heavily immersed in advocacy for sexual assault survivors, as well as prevention and education. This was 2015, and it's where my career as an advocate began.
I was disabled for a time by my PTSD and still struggle with my mental health. The last 4 years have also seen me realize that I'm queer. On top of that, many of my family members are immigrants from Mexico, and, although pregnancy does not affect me, I became passionately pro-choice through my work with Planned Parenthood. For the last four years, I've tried to show unwavering support for these groups, educate others on these issues and vocalize how they affect me.
Then Trump was elected.
I've lost count of how many times either the man himself or his administration has offended what I believe in. From the Latinx children locked in cages and my transgender siblings barred from the military to Trump himself bragging about sexual assault and making fun of a disabled person, it seems like all change this administration makes will be painful for me and the people I love.
Worse, however, is how easily so much of the country has followed their lead.
It's gotten to the point where I can't even scroll through Twitter peacefully without there being something terrible in the news. With Trump in the lead, xenophobia, racial violence, and bigotry are regular occurrences from people assured they'll get away with it. Then, after promoting or committing this behavior, conservatives have the nerve to call people "snowflakes."
Every sit-com and children's book tells a similar narrative of standing up for what you believe in, even in the face of ridicule or threat of violence. Apparently, Republicans have yet to see or read those.
Even if you lack the basic human empathy to understand how the above-mentioned incidents might affect another person, there should still be the integrity to recognize that someone is experiencing pain and you shouldn't mock them for it.
Only bullies laugh at someone after kicking them down, which most parents would never condone in their children, so why is this lost in adulthood?
This state of society is absolutely deplorable and gets extremely depressing if you feel a moral obligation to stand up for yourself and the things you care about in the midst of it. Not to mention how unproductive this bipartisan tension is forgetting anything that matters decided and enforced.
The great divide itself is overwhelming enough to make anyone feel insignificant.
Ironically, this whole article feeds right into the stereotypes applied to people like me. However, if the state of things now doesn't make you feel a little icy or like your world is melting, you probably aren't paying enough attention.
Lucky you for having the luxury to ignore it.
