Imagine a world in which every shooting by police of an unarmed Black person was met with the energy and urgency of the 2017 Women's March or the airport protests after the Muslim Ban was announced.
Imagine people mobilizing every time a state wanted to pass draconian abortion restrictions the way they did when the Affordable Care Act was up for a repeal in 2018.
Imagine the canvassing, the text banking, the GOTV work that has happened in 2018 and 2020 happening every single time, for every single election. Imagine what might be possible.
Imagine the outcry and passion for immigrant rights, for just immigration laws that has happened over the last few years continuing to happen, in an ongoing way, until every last person yearning to breathe free is safe.
Imagine what might be possible if we remembered that the gap between rich and poor isn't getting fixed magically anytime soon, that systemic racism is real and requires all of our efforts to dismantle it, that so many of our laws and policies were unjust even before 2016.
Remember that the ties of care and solidarity that have been so painstakingly built over the last four years require ongoing investment.
That "none of us are free until all of us are free" is still true, even if you, personally, might feel safer now.
Checking out of the work is not, should not be possible. We cannot afford to stick our heads back in the sand.
And the people we hope to be allies to definitely can't afford for us to.
The structures that made 2016 possible are still in place.
The injustices that long predate 2016 are definitely still in place.
And there's a long road of repair from this era ahead of us yet.
Those draconian budget cuts? Still having a profound impact on those who were already economically marginalized.
Those horrific immigration laws? Not magically fixed.
The remaking of the Judicial Branch? Will be with us for a long, long time.
We have so much work to do.
Yes, you're tired, I get it. Which is part of why I've been making all this noise all this time about cultivating a deep spiritual practice. This work is long-haul work, and we all need to have the tools and supports to be able to do it.. for the long haul.
The things that you felt you needed to speak out against will be, by and large, still hurting our country's most marginalized people even with a change in leadership. The things you wanted to be not in your name will be, if you drop the work now.
If you have the luxury of dropping out of the work, that means you have a certain kind of privilege. And if you have that privilege, that means you have a responsibility.
The responsibility is for the long haul.
As always, figure out what you have to offer & where you want to be. What are your capacities? Time? Talents? Connections? Financial resources? What are your passions? Where do you feel called to invest? Racial justice? Climate justice? Reproductive justice? Somewhere else?
(Hint: Racial justice, reproductive justice and climate justice are all interconnected, as are they all with economic justice, immigrant rights, and so much more.)
Lots of great places to show up & work.
We need all hands on deck, & there's a lot of deck.
Where will you be?
