I want to begin saying I am a 19 year old college student, no I do not know everything. I grew up with my grandparents who have been through things like plenty of marches and protests and two wars. I've loved listening to their stories over the years, but now it's time for my stories, and the stories of my generation. These are the things we will tell our children about when we are older. We will tell them that we banned people because of their religion, we will tell them that racism was still alive and thriving, we will tell them that people would rather be afraid and accept racism and hate than try to understand something they didn't know.
I'm tired of people calling us "whiny liberals" and such. Many people my age and around us, are good hardworking people. This generation seems to be working more and getting less all around. A lot of us have experienced hardships that changed us and the way we think. Most of us, like me, just prefer to think with our hearts. Not everything we say is logical or just would work easily, but I would be damned if no one tried! Too many millennials think that everyone should be able to be safe, loved, have a roof over their heads, and clean water to just be "whining". I believe in the good of people and I always will.
Yes, there are things happening all around the world that are terrifying to us, things we don't understand. But the newest "Muslim Ban" will not stop these things from happening, it will only separate the country, separate families, and separate the world further. These are people trying to escape war, save their lives and their families, people I would never turn away. And I understand people are scared, but separating us further will only hurt us more. America was supposed to be a safe place where people could pursue things that made them happy, follow their dreams. I would never judge someone on their faith or the color of their skin. I would never say America is the best or the right way to govern or that christianity is better than anything else. I would never put myself or what I believe above what someone else does, no matter where they are from.
Being a women, some things from the Women's March appealed greatly to me. Many of them were marching for things like affordable access to birth control, for women who were discriminated against, sex trafficking, abuse, rape culture, things that weren't just abortion and women's rights. Not that long ago, many women did not have the right to a job. Many women didn't even have the right to go out in public or talk to another man because they were only "property". In many places in the world, those things still hold true, and that is why people march. The Women's March was not just in the United States, it was also in places like France, Australia, Germany, all around the globe. These things can't just be ignored anymore.
It blows my mind that it is 2017 and racism is still alive and doing well. The KKK is in full swing very publicly and no one seems to be caring. Children are being slaughtered and we just try to look the other way because it isn't happening here. Many of the people that are "pro-life", don't want to let these families in. Many of the people speaking against abortion refuse to adopt, People are more worried about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West than the millions of people that can't afford the medicine they need to live. People don't care about Flint Michigan still not having clean water, people ignore the oil pipelines even though there are spills daily that poison the water of Americans. People have no problem caring about the things that only directly affect them and saying that it is their "right" to it when in reality, it is a very big privilege that many people in America and across the world don't have.
Millennials might think with our hearts and they might not always logical, but we will never apologize for believing in the good in people and believing that everyone deserves the right to live safely without fear of being killed for their gender or what they look like. We are not whining, we want everyone to be safe and we want to unite people, not tear them apart. We will fight to keep families together and make sure everyone can be safe, happy, and healthy. That is what will make America great again and it does not make us whiny for doing the right thing, even though it might not benefit us. We care about others and the world and doing the right thing, first and foremost. They are not the worst ideas in the world, actually.
I will never apologize for loving others and wanting them to have all of the opportunities I have had. To go to school, have a house, be able to shower, see a doctor if I got sick. And if none of these executive orders that have been made have directly affected you, that is a deep privilege and you should be thankful.