Quote:
Originally Posted by Orwn Acra
Julie, no one here is saying what you posit in your first paragraph.
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Yes, I know. No one [here] is saying what you posit, either--i.e., that all forms of angry protest should be condemned, and
only "quiet discourse" is allowed. The poem certainly doesn't say that. How can the students explain why they are on strike if they are only explaining, and not striking?
Anyway, it's time to stop yelling at each other, and start trying to join forces in the many areas in which unity is possible. Trump might actually keep his promise to unify the country, despite himself, by unifying us against his unacceptable policies and appointments.
Americans overseas, please ask your American hometown newspapers if they'd be interested in publishing an op-ed piece by you, from your unique perspective.
Americans in the States, please take a few minutes to add the phone numbers of your Members of Congress and Senators to your phone, if they aren't already there. Call their district offices to register your displeasure about the counter-productive appointment of Steve "Turn On the Hate" Bannon, and to encourage them to join bipartisan efforts to get Trump to rescind it. Follow up next week to thank them for their action, or let them know you're still concerned.
Also write a brief letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Even if they don't print yours--and my local paper has never printed any of mine over the years--this is not wasted effort, because the editors take the overall volume of mail on an issue into account when choosing how many letters pro and con to print. Every letter on your side helps win additional column inches for your side.
Get ready to repeat this process many, many times over the next four years--in addition to whatever other forms of protest you may be doing.
Self-therapeutic expressions of anger against partial allies may feel good in the moment, but they undermine the groundwork for future joint efforts. We won't be able to find common ground on every single thorny issue, but we do need each other if we're going to get our country through this.