Make America Kind Again

Let’s get this straight. I am not a political person. Actually, I am the last person you would want to come to about anything political. This entire article could be crap, very well, many people will probably think it is. Just so you get a jist, the extent of my knowledge is the tid bit I read from my USA TODAY APP notifications that get sent automatically to my phone. So, when my sister asked me to attend the Women’s March in Nashville, I did not say yes because I hate Donald Trump or because I am a passionate feminist. I said yes because it was and still is a good cause.

Personally, I think everyone should have attended, whether you lean as far to the right as possible or the complete opposite. It did not matter if you had a penis or a vagina. If your skin color was black, white or orange. You were welcomed in any way, shape or form, even the protestors.

The Women’s March took place on Saturday, Jan. 21. It was a one mile march from Cumberland Park to Public Square. The distance does not even matter though. What matters is the reason. Trump was elected on Nov. 8 and shortly after, inaugurated on Jan. 20. No problem. He preached of gaining jobs by coercing our industry back into America and “building a wall” by “making Mexico pay for it”. All of this sounded pleasing to the ear. I mean it is our country. Why not be selfish with it? Stop the flood of immigrants. Give the men and women jobs. He is driven and has so many groundbreaking ideas, but really, at what cost is it worth being so selfish?

Merely one week into his presidency, this “Great America” that he is trying to “Make Again” is slowly turning into some twisted concept of men in clergy wigs standing around a table signing American citizen’s freedoms and rights away. What was once advertised as a voice for the people is now a voice for his party. The problem with that is the fact that there are other men and women who have no say. “Well maybe those men and women should have voted.” They did, they were just a minority. Being classified as a minority should not take your voice away. These were just a few of the people who marched. Marching was not an act of violence; it was an act of resistance.

My sister, Meghan Baucum, is an outspoken young lady who is passionate in every sense of the word. She told me the march was in solidarity with the Women’s March happening in Washington after Trump’s Inauguration speech. It would basically show support for every minority since he has threatened every type of person, other than white males. She said she was personally marching because of his threat to ban abortions and even punish women for exercising their basic reproduction rights.

Take note of the use of the word “threat”. After the march, I saw many people asking questions as to why women, men and all minorities filled the streets all over the United States preaching about women’s rights, immigration laws and health care, when Trump had not necessarily passed anything against them yet. But the key word, the match to light the flame, is the word yet. They were resisting against the threats. Showing that there are people that will get hurt, people that will only be left with the lesser end of the bargain. For example the Muslim Ban.

The Muslim Ban bars U.S. entry to refugees, immigrants and green-card holders that are coming from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan for 90 days. Then comes the argument “Trump never mentioned that it was targeted towards the Muslims” or “what about the 46 majority Muslim countries that are not included”. But that does not defeat the fact that there are seven banned, seven whom are affected. He stated that the Muslim Ban would give priority to the Christians. This would be great if we lived in an alternate universe where Christians were the all powerful beings and should be the only ones that matter, but we do not. “One nation under all” sounds a lot better and more unifying than “one nation under God”. They come here for various reasons: freedom, safety or a better life. Not to visit their original country and be denied the right to return.

Many claim stopping immigration will decrease terrorist attacks, but how is banning a religion from entering the U.S. going to stop terrorists, when most of the attacks in the US are by white kids with bowl cuts. In the CDC’s fatal injury reports, on average, there are more Americans killed annually by being ran over by a lawnmower, 737, than there are killed by all Islamic Jihadist terrorists (including US citizens), 9. There is no way you can still support this act and claim that you are not racist or xenophobic in any form.

Besides the fact that most minorities are threatened, so is the media. And when the media is threatened, you may not see it, but it is a direct correlation to theUS citizens. Trump claims that most media is “fake news” if it is not to his benefit. They label it as corrupt and biased, which in some cases is true, but not always. The “opposition party” are writers that are digging to find more than what is on the surface. Trump does not want people to dig. He wants people to see that first layer and report on only it. Just like any average human being, he wants to be seen as intelligent and in control, so he tweets of nonsense. Slowly brainwashing all his followers to disregard all media and only soak in what he says. But like many of you have forgotten, he is not a reporter. Let alone, he is barely a politician. He is human and he makes mistakes, but those mistakes must be revealed. Because, as most of you know, he does run this country.

And since when can you just fire someone on the spot because they do not agree with you? Jan. 30, Attorney General Sally Yates was let go because she failed to make legal arguments defending Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees.New York Times compared this incident to the Saturday Night Massacre in 1973 when President Richard M. Nixon fired his attorney general for refusing to dismiss the special prosecutor in the Watergate case. It was not even an hour later that USA TODAY dinged and said Trump had made the cut. Just think, you go to college for about eight years — earning a doctorate in law — work your way through the judicial branch, gain a position at Attorney General, just to be fired over staking your claim for civil rights. Trump thinks he can do whatever he wants because he is president, but he must be aware that lawfulness comes before his dignity.

Actions speak louder than words and people are what they do, not what they say they will do. The Dakota Access Pipeline protest is the longest running protest in history and has been ongoing since April 2016. Protesters have sat through freezing temperatures and engaged in violent clashes with law enforcement, sometimes even leading to tear gas and rubber bullets. People are so passionate because the potential pipeline will run through sites held sacred to Native Americans. USA Today reports that a 21-year-old woman said her left arm faces amputation due to being hit by a “concussion grenade”. To her and many other protesters, that was losing a battle and winning a war — until Jan. 24. Trump signed an executive order advancing construction of Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline. He said it would bring forth the jobs all these Americans had been looking for, but for how long? These jobs are only temporary. But if a pipe leaks, water will be contaminated probably longer than it took to build the pipe in the first place. They would spend as much time cleaning it up as they could have finding an alternate route.

If there is one thing that Journalism has taught me, it is that we, Journalists, are the watchdogs of the government. Most seek truth. Most seek what the people want but cannot reach. What the people need to hear, but do not know how to grasp by themselves. Maybe that is why I seem as if I do not take this as lightly as I could have. I could stray away from the eye and write my average pieces about “bathroom sanitation” or “minority groups in our halls”. But instead I am going to disappoint my big, fat Republican family.

Writing gives me power; Writing lets me stretch to express ideals I would not be likely to in my everyday life. In some sort, that is what the people need. People need raw honesty. I might be biased, but at least I was honest and that is hard for a lot of people to say.