Sometimes I wake up frightened. Yes, I do listen to podcasts, read newspapers and watch the news but I believe we have to. We cannot ignore what is going on because it is too horrible or too overwhelming, but it won’t change anything. Everyone who understands what is going on and how it will affect us for years to come, need to do something. That “something” might be writing a letter, making a phone call, going to a protest, signing a petition and, more importantly, being loud about what you think. If you never post anything on your Facebook page because you don’t want people to know what you think, I would call it cowardice. Yes, that is a very strong word, but I am convinced that everyone who understands the evilness of what is going on, needs to participate to stop it. It doesn’t go away by itself and you shouldn’t be so selfish to think that others will take care of it. We need everyone.

I also believe that I don’t have anything to lose with this battle–I can only gain. Gain in terms of my integrity, my passion, my mission, my family, my advocacy for those in need and so many other things.

Don’t get me wrong, there are things I am afraid of, but it is not what people think of me or my views. I am afraid of so so many things. Foremost I am afraid for my daughter who is gay and for her partner who is trans. Oddly enough, I am afraid of not being able to travel abroad, because this administration might decide I should not. I am afraid for those in need worldwide who we are hurting because we stopped US Aid. I am afraid that we are cutting medical research that might help friends of mine suffering with cancer and depend on new drugs. I am afraid that the people running the government are lunatics [and that is a mild statement]. The cabinet is a hodgepodge of people who are loyalists to Trump. No independent thinking: only loyalty to a man who is a liar, felon, rapist and grifter. The grifter comes out every day: selling Teslas on the White House lawn, putting out a coin a day before you are inaugurated and taking money from all foreign governments no matter what they believe; using tariffs against countries like Brasil for putting Bolsonaro in jail for a coup. Using FEMA funds to. upgrade a plane gift from Qatar.

Don’t believe that you don’t matter–because you do matter. And what you say and what you do, does matter. Sending letters and making phone calls to your representatives should not be frightening. It is part of the process that has existed for years–you just might not have taken advantage of it. But now it the time to take advantage.

Right now, I am willing to get arrested at a protest, I am willing to be loud and let everyone know what I think and why I think the opposition is wrong and will hurt us. The GOP are cowards and have lost every bit of integrity they might have had. They are in a Trumpian Trance. Our democracy is ending and if you think that is a strong statement, it is not.

Here is a list of why we cannot be afraid. It is definitely not everything but it might help you understand that being afraid helps the opposition.

• Medicaid will be cut, children, disabled and low income folks will be hurt;
• Transgender people will be disappeared
• Diversity and initiatives to bring people together will be abandoned and criminalized
• Our health and welfare are endangered through people in charge
• Books are banned
• Standard education is eliminated and banned and universities are threatened for their free thought.
• We now reward those who invaded our Capitol on Jan 6 with jobs in the DOJ.
• Trump is rewriting history. The Library of Congress said it had a coding error that eliminated the section that talks about Habeas Corpus. Oh sure, it was a coding error.

You need to be very afraid, and very vocal. I do not accept the excuse that “I don’t use FB for political stuff”, “I don’t want people to know how I feel,” “I don’t think anything will happen to me,” or so many other excuses not to be loud in a time when you can. By next year, being loud might get you a jail sentence.

We need everyone to do the work in any way you can.