Week Two: Solidarity and Conscience
Trump has been in office for just two weeks and already we are reeling daily with shock and awe from the onslaught of radical executive orders and actions, most of which have been targeted against people of color: banning refugees and legal immigrants from seven Muslim countries; the firing of top State Department staff and the acting Attorney General (who refused to use her authority to enforce the new anti-immigrant rules); an order to build the Dakota pipeline on Native lands; border patrol agents ignoring court stays to end the ban, and thinly veiled threats of war against Mexico and Iran.
Pausing, taking a breath
Sometimes I pause during my day and take one of those deep cleansing breaths that guided meditations encourage. The affront right now to our values, our democratic process, our issues, our safety, and our communities are deep and broad. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by feelings of fear, grief, anger.
When I’m lucky I feel love for those who live a life of courage in the face of overwhelming odds. In my day-to-day work, I am fortunate to be part of conversations and strategy sessions among some of our nation’s most passionate changemakers to consider and enact a variety of responses: grassroots protests, engagement with local and state elected officials, and litigations to oppose unlawful and discriminatory executive orders and practices.
Remembering Ann
These are the times that define the stuff of a person. Today, I’m thinking of my dear friend Ann Wright, 70-year-old retired Army Colonel who stepped down from her state department position in March 2003 in opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. She was moved to make a bold statement back when many justified the war in Iraq, when Democrats voted to fund the war, and she ran operations for the Veterans for Peace protest at Camp Casey outside Bush’s vacation ranch.
I am a veteran myself (I was an Army medic) and I worked with Ann back when soldiers were brought home in caskets that the media was not permitted to photograph, when cable news-embedded reporters toed the party line about the legality and necessity of the war. Back before it was common knowledge that the justification of the war was a lie. But in the face of the overwhelming barriers to ending the war, there were hundreds of thousands of people whose acts of resistance large and small made a difference.
Over time, Ann and I spent weeks under the hot Crawford, Texas sun with veterans and military families at the Camp Casey protest. Our camp and our voices grew louder in opposition to the war. Just last week, I ran into Ann in person after years of keeping in touch via Facebook. She was at Busboys and Poets the day before the Women’s March on Washington. Years after our time protesting Bush, she is opposing the Trump regime. In fact, a few days ago, she was arrested while protesting Sessions during the Senate confirmation hearings.
It’s getting more common for me to hear talk of being part of the resistance and the long history we have in this country of those moved to take a strong stand against injustice or tyranny.
Talking about resistance
It’s getting more common for me to hear talk of being part of the resistance and the long history we have in this country of those moved to take a strong stand against injustice or tyranny. More and more people are finding ways to resist and to speak out and to organize.
We’ll have to overcome fear of safety and jobs and the unknown to take a stand. In 2016, as a result of her activism, Ann was threatened with losing her the social security benefits that she’d earned from nearly 40 years in the military and federal government.
Despite the challenges, we’ll collectively need much more risk-taking and selflessness to reclaim democracy and decency in the face of the extremism and danger this regime represents. We see it in everyday people, or decent public servants. We’ll need much more courage demonstrated from our elected leadership as well.
Sarsour said to the crowd: “While they are united around hate and divisiveness and racism and homophobia and xenophobia, we are united by solidarity and love, unity.”
Standing with Linda
Of the many women I admire for their bold leadership in the resistance, it is the women in hijabs, women like Linda Sarsour, Palestinian-American-Muslim, racial justice and civil rights activist, and co-chair of the Women’s March on Washington, who we can collectively look to and support.
I was with Linda at the emergency rally called on January 29 in Washington Square Park in Manhattan in the wake of the immigration ban orders last weekend. I stood in a crowd of thousands, near the podium under the impressive stone arch where Linda spoke beautiful words of courage, and of solidarity. She called out to the crowd and offered advice on what to do when Muslims, immigrants, refugees, black people, Native Americans, LGBT individuals and women are under attack. Each time, the crowd yelled, “Stand up, fight back!” She responded by saying that the opposition must have both “consistency and persistency.”
“We have to be really careful because the opposition is ready. But what they don’t know is that we’re ready too,” Sarsour said to the crowd. “While they are united around hate and divisiveness and racism and homophobia and xenophobia, we are united by solidarity and love, unity.”
“The opposition is coordinated against our Muslim communities and organizations. I promise you will always have my voice loud and proud. You will have my feet on these streets and I will defend and protect all of you because when I project you I protect myself, my family, and my community,” she continued. “If you wanna know what’s next, in 2018, keep your eyes on the prize because we’re gonna tea party them like they tea partied us!”
Women showing us the way forward
The news, and my social network, brings me harrowing news everyday. With it comes the kind of fear that can paralyze us. But if we look to women who have stood against great power in the past, and continue to fight for justice in the present, we can find our way forward.
Linda and Ann show us what is possible when we are spurred on by love of the greater community and belief in justice. They show it is possible to stand strong against a tide of hatred and show us how to come together to make a difference.
