Roll Up Your Sleeves.

Today is January 20, 2017.

I’ve been struggling for weeks, thinking about what I would say today. How I would feel today. What I would do today.

In fact, for the last two months, nearly all I have thought about, when my mind drifts throughout the day:

“What are we going to do?”

I’ve asked this question to friends, to mentors, to family members, to the universe.

“What are we going to do?”

During my masochistic daily review of the news, I find frightening emotions welling up inside of me. They are mixtures or pain, fear, sadness, doubt, hopelessness, anger, and frustration.

I end up doing many things, from venting to people, to binge reading, to writing, to crying, to shouting, to drinking. Sometimes a combination of all of those.

“What are we going to do?”

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I’ve seen so many varied reactions from friends that I love and respect. They, too do not have patterns. They are heavy and dark with sadness, or wild and biting with anger, or stoic and logical with statistics, or poignantly misanthropic.

Even my usual key to the portal of catharsis –– humor –– hasn’t soothed me. No amount of John Oliver, Trevor Noah, or Samantha Bee has made me feel better about this.

“What are we going to do?”

Sometimes mentally, sometimes physically, I race around with a sense of urgency about it all. I pound the pavement for miles, holding back tears, or lie awake at night, tossing and turning.

At times I have felt absolutely crazy.

“What are we going to do?”

While I still have fear, while I still shake with doubt, while my heart still feels heavy, I know what I have to do.

I must go forward, with all of my might, and fight.

I must live my life with the urgent persistence of audacious hope that my President, Barack Obama, inspired me with.

I must use every tool in my arsenal,
be it the written word,
be it dialogue,
be it my life choices,
be it my social media presence,
be it my job,
be it my passions,
be it my hobbies,
be it my very breath ––

to fight for good. For equality. For justice. For fairness. For what is right. For the future.
For hope.

I cannot dwell on the terror. I cannot drown in nightmarish monsters of villains. I cannot be swayed by threats of violence. I cannot stand down in the face of verbal or physical attacks.

I cannot do anything other than get up every morning and fight.

There is no other choice for me. And there isn’t one for you, either.

No matter who. you. are.

Don’t let the headlines fool you. We are not fighting one man. This is much bigger than him.

We are fighting against a culture of hate, violence, oppression, ignorance, and greed. We are fighting against advocates of a mindset that only seeks to incite civil war and divisions, while they rake the piles of dollar bills higher. We are fighting against a world that George Orwell warned us about.

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."

But we are not only fighting against something.
More importantly, we are fighting for something.

For a society where all lives, regardless of skin color, do, in fact matter.
For a world that we care for instead of destroy
For equal treatment of all people, of all races, all genders, all creeds, and all cultures.
For affordable access to healthcare that allows us to live to see the future.
For empathy, love, and understanding.
For quality education.  
For a country who truly stands for its values of freedom, justice, and liberty for all.

I know that I will never stop fighting for what I know is right.

I take solace in the fact that you will be next to me. 

Fired up. Ready to go.  

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