Four years ago today, I had the pleasure of participating in the first Women’s March on Washington.
This memory popped up on my Facebook timeline and it made me pause to think about the last four years, where we are now, and how we move forward.
I stopped to think about the march itself. It was a chilly January morning. I had driven with this woman I had only just met a few days ago on the local politics Facebook page. So glad she didn’t turn out to be a serial killer. We parked at her friend’s house just outside DC because it was close to the subway trains into the city. When we got off the train, the crowds were huge. People who were packed in like sardines on the train cars now spilled out on to the platform and seamlessly merged into a narrow space, not unlike the center point of an hourglass, to board the escalators to the ground level.
In our excitement, I found the crowds to be polite, courteous, and helpful. And that is true for every part of the march. From that train ride to the walk to the Capitol to the enormity of the crushing crowds — something I never encountered before — people were cool. We were all united in our collective disdain for the incoming administration but no one, at least on my radar, allowed that disdain to overcome them to the point of turning on one another. The solidarity was rich and full and I was there for all of it.
So. What was the point of the Women’s March? What, specifically, were we marching FOR?
Truth and transparency. Scientific facts. Human rights, human dignity, and justice for all.
And to that end, what, specifically, were we marching AGAINST?
Divisive, bullying policies (and bullying in general); Russian influence in the campaign; disinformation; gaslighting; white supremacy and injustice; xenophobia; corruption; and a dangerous “America First” agenda that pitted us against the world and resulted in a now-removed report “1776” which essentially tried to whitewash our history.
It’s been a long four years.
Yesterday, was a good day. A really good day. We inaugurated our first female Vice President! We gained a majority in the Senate to complement the House majority. Things are looking good. But still, there is much work to do.
Top on my mind is that as of today, January 21, 2021, there are still 545 children from the previous administration’s horrific border child separation policy who have yet to be reunited with their families. That presses heavily on my heart. The collective trauma of these children and their caregivers will be deep and lifelong. To me, this is the horrid legacy of the past administration.
Also on my mind are the 400,000+ souls who have died from covid due to failed leadership to contain and control the spread. And today, we learned the Biden administration inherited no plan for vaccine roll-out and distribution or any plan to efficiently reopen the economy, help save small businesses, and safely reopen schools. Turns out there was no plan. Nothing. So, they are starting from square one.
Disinformation on fringe outlets abounds but I am hopeful that truth will prevail. I can count a distressing number of friends who have quit Facebook, Twitter, and other social media in favor of alternate platforms such as parler, and something called MeWe. They bought into the big lie that Biden was not the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. They bought into the campaign of fear and divisiveness without realizing the campaign was designed to energize them in such a manner. See: the Capitol riots from two weeks ago.
Differences of opinion are fine and appropriate when discussing your favorite ice cream flavors or even something more complex as to how we should go about solving the problems that lie before us. (Chocolate chip, for the record). But one cannot and should not have a difference of opinion on things that seek to oppress our humanity, limit or take away rights, or prevent justice. If your religion, your leader, or your political party is on the side that advocates for fewer rights for all so that the protected few can flourish (white supremacy), then perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your choices. At the very least, I truly believe it’s time for one party in particular to regroup and reprioritize. Because that party no longer represents the values and beliefs I have seen exhibited by people such as Mitt Romney, Condoleeza Rice, GWB (yes, I know, but still), and the late John McCain.
Now is the time for the country to come together. And in order to do that, we need to look for all the ways we are alike. We need to identify all the things we have in common. And we need to recognize all the good and right things in our communities, in our country, and in ourselves. But that does not mean we embrace or condone the actions of those who seek to divide our country with white supremacy, nazism, violence, or dehumanization of anyone in the process. On the contrary. We must unite together to weed that shit out.
And that takes work. From all of us. It’s not enough to say, kumbaya, let’s move on, the Dems are in charge now so let’s just let bygones be bygones. Because that just creates a false hope, an absence of tension and conflict. Or, a “negative peace.”
In fact, if I may paraphrase MLK, “we have to fight against a negative peace which is the absence of tension, and work instead toward achieving a positive peace, which is the presence of justice.”
I am so glad I marched. And I would do it again in a hot minute.
