When Donald Trump won the election my husband commented that his presidency might have a silver lining. It would inspire people to get more politically involved. He could be right. I have already noticed on my Facebook feed how many of my friends are taking political actions they say are relatively new experiences for them.
“I don’t normally write political posts but…” A former teaching colleague in a southern American city was upset such an unqualified person had been named Education Secretary of the United States. It prompted her to call her elected representatives in the senate to express her strong objections to the appointment.
“I believe a Muslim ban is contrary to God’s heart and purpose.” A former student who works in one of America’s largest cities went down to the airport to protest when people impacted by the travel ban were not being allowed to leave the terminal. I told her I was proud of her.
“This gal hasn’t marched since the ’70s.” A friend who participated in the Women’s March on January 21 with her daughter remarked the last thing she had protested had been the Vietnam War.
“It can’t hurt and might impact the trend towards Trump’s kind of bullying.” A friend on the American east coast signed a letter to Donald Trump from the world. The petition asks Trump to take a stand for compassion rather than fear. It already has some 5 million signatures.
“It was less scary than I thought it would be.” A friend in the American midwest whose grandparents were put in a Japanese internment camp during World War II called her political representatives for the first time ever to express her concern about President Tump’s executive order on refugees.
Those are just a few examples of people who are stepping up to the plate of political involvement even if they may not have done so before. It could be that my husband was right about Trump’s win having a silver lining.
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