3-24-25
How did we arrive at this point?
Haven’t you wondered? I certainly have. What happened to people in this country? Why is there so much vicious intolerance, prejudice, and hate? Why are so many people working to take us backwards?
Why?
People often fear what they don’t understand. And instead of striving to open their minds learning about an issue in question, frequently, people try to distance them themselves, lash out, and even attack it. And what can make the situation even worse is how people often seek out others who agree with them while staying away from those who don’t. Many also have a tendency to only look for information from sources that they know will reinforce what they want to hear as opposed to learning from those which are more varied and independent.
An example of this is what’s going on with regards to the Transgender community these days. The truth is: transgender+ (transgender, non-binary, genderfluid, genderqueer, etc) people have always been around. There have always been individuals who didn’t feel that the sex they were assigned at birth matched how they truly felt about themselves. Unfortunately, due to prejudice and a lack of understanding, throughout much of history, such individuals often found themselves having to hide their true nature or risk serious persecution. Being unable to openly live as your true self can be grueling, demoralizing, disheartening, debilitating, and brutal. But finally, transgender+ individuals were starting to find more acceptance and a greater ability to live closer to their true selves. But then Trump and numerous other Republicans decided to declare war on the Transgender community sinking to the point where at the federal level, they try to act like transgender+ people officially don’t even exist. It’s gotten so bad that if a transgender woman who has completely transitioned from male to female gets a new passport, it identifies her automatically as male despite the fact that she’s now a woman. This is malicious prejudice, ignorance, and utter hate. Treating an entire community like they officially don’t exist is immoral and beyond despicable. Yet this is what the Trump administration and numerous other Republicans are actively doing.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, the Trump administration is exhibiting behavior that appears very authoritarian and autocratic in nature. Instead of trying to unify the population, Trump is encouraging division, prejudice, and hate. By attacking entire communities (such as transgender+, undocumented immigrants, other foreign nationals, etc), Trump appears to be trying to unify his followers against what is perceived as the common enemy. Trump has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from state officials and other organizations if they don’t bow to his will. He’s also banned or restricted various news organizations from official briefings because he didn’t like the questions they were asking despite the fact that the questions were legitimate and those that any journalist would ask in a free society. There have also been signs then Trump may be willing to defy court orders. He ordered the deportation of multiple people to Venezuela despite the fact that a judge had put a block on the move. These are dangerous and troubling signs that are the actions of an authoritarian style autocrat and not those of a leader who respects democracy.
So what now? What is the next step? What do we do? What’s going to happen?
I can’t say for sure what the future is going to hold and where this nation may end up. But I do know that for those of us who see the danger of what is happening, we need to speak out and make our voices heard, standing up for tolerance, open-mindedness, respect, and democracy. We cannot stay silent. Too much is at stake.
Let’s work towards making this nation a better place that stands for the open-minded, democratic values that we hold so dear.
Views and Observations 