I am an American

I don’t have to be Jewish, black, indigenous, Muslim, Japanese, immigrant, descended from the Pilgrims, gay, transgendered, or Latina to be afraid. I am an American. And I am afraid. Donald Trump is ripping through and destroying hard-won rights. Not privileges, like corporations have, but basic rights. Mere days into his term as President, he is signing executive order after executive order. Orders that hurt American after American. We suffer when he signs orders to damage the environment. We suffer when he signs orders that damage the indigenous people of our country. We suffer when he gags scientists and government officials. We suffer when he bans people from coming here. We suffer when he guts regulations. We suffer when he appoints incompetent people to high level and far reaching posts. We suffer when he appoints people who are diametrically opposed to the very purpose of the department they’ve been appointed to. We suffer every time Donald Trump tears at the fabric of our society to create a society for him and his rich cronies alone. Poor huddled masses yearning to be free have made us the country we are. Refugees, immigrants, slaves, indigenous people are the ones that created this nation. We need all of us to build our future. I am an American and I am afraid of what Donald Trump is doing. Stand up to him. Do not let him rip apart our rights. Our basic rights. Rights to a good education, rights to science, rights to the environment, rights to know people from other parts of the world, other religions, the right to be people from other parts of the world and of a religion or an atheist. I am an American and that means I get to be Jewish, black, indigenous, Muslim, Japanese, immigrant, descended from the Pilgrims, gay, transgendered, or Latina. But I don’t want to be afraid. I want a nation that stands for truth and justice. I want to be in a nation that affords everyone basic rights regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. I want a nation that respects others even as it disagrees with others. I am an American and I want a good and just nation for all.