Yesterday was a pretty monumental day here in the US. Did it fix everything that is wrong with our country? No, of course not. There is so much work to be done, and not all of it can be legislated.
Right now there are thousands of people who were led down the fantasy-laced rabbit hole that was QAnon having to come face to face with the reality that they were mislead, played for fools even. There are hundreds facing federal charges because they believed they could forcefully keep their want-to-be dictator in office. There are millions of Americans who feel as though their voices will no longer be heard.
Of course, those are the voices we need to understand, not to give them power, but so we do not forget that hate and anger have the power to destroy lives, and not just those given over to the hate and anger.
As someone who was once very far to the right side of the political spectrum, while also being poor, I understand how easy it is to misplace the anger and frustration of your living situation by blaming those who have nothing to do with the reasons that your angry and frustrated. Blame is always easier than responsibility.
We can’t let them go back into hiding, because that is how they multiply without us knowing. We have to hold them accountable for their reprehensible words and actions, shine the light on them and force them to come out of the dark.
Will we change them? Most likely not. That isn’t our job. No, we simply need to let them see themselves and make them understand that they can not and will not drag our country into that dark chasm where bigotry and fear oppresses our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ citizens ever again.
Photo by Lefty Kasdaglis on Unsplash
