Dear Boys,
It has been a hard week for me. Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. He was elected on the basis of fear and anger. Many of his supporters are average Americans who felt they were not represented in our government, many feel they are entitled to something, and many are tired of the politics as usual. I understand a lot of what they are going through, but there is a disturbing element to his supporters. Leading up to the election he said many things to incite many of his supporters to say and do things that are not acceptable to my way of life. He made campaign promises to reverse laws and policies that support women’s and LGBTQ rights; to round up millions of people to deport them; and to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. There are so many other things that he said that I don’t agree with that you will learn about or by the time you read this you will have learned. Mr. Trump got elected by playing to the racism, sexism, homophobia, and extreme nationalism that exists in our society. These are the aspects of our world that we must be aware of in order to fight against them. We must fight against them by standing up people who need our help, by giving back to our community, and by voting. These actions must be taken to ensure that someone like Donald Trump does not get elected again — that someone like him doesn’t even come into existence because if we are being thoughtful, inclusive, and good then there is no need for his type of representation in our government. Hopefully four years from now there will be another post to this journal that is about a more positive vision of our future. Until then we fight!
