I was down at the beach briefly later on and thought again about why I haven’t raised my voice and joined the millions who are marching and singing across our country and in our communities. Why in a year since the local protest group began, all I’ve mustered is driving by and honking when I happen to be in the area of a Saturday protest, despite my despair as the days have gone on and the horror and agonies have grown. I’m ashamed of myself. Physically, it would be very difficult to join the protest group, but I have words — words that have been sitting on my heart and making it heavier and heavier as each day goes by.
It is so important that we join our voices with others — just as one dot makes a small impact when placed in the middle of a page, when another dot is placed and they connect and then another, it encourages others to place a dot and the dots spread out and connect and on and on until we have a heart that beats in unison with the words of our Pledge of Allegiance: … One Nation Indivisible, With Liberty And Justice For All. One heart that beats in unison with love of and support of our Constitution. One heart that beats in unison to the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You.
If apathy or whatever or however you want to label it failed to keep us engaged in and understanding the political process and why each of our votes, informed votes, matters, it is now up to each of us to stand up and speak up and sing and cross the divide that separates us from those who would support this administration and all the pain, evil, and yes, death it has brought to our country. Each of our lives are impacted by the events of the last year in our country. Each of us may have a line to cross with family members, friends, neighbors, acquaintances — for me, it’s a brother and a cousin; for a friend, it’s a sister. They aren’t enemies; they’re flesh and blood, and they matter to us. We have history with them, just as we have history with our country. It’s terrifying for me to consider that the brother who has been a rock and the source of so much joy through all these years might forsake me for crossing that line with him. However, the belief I have that the possibility of connecting our dots might lead to the connecting of other dots — well, I just can’t go to sleep another night with that burden on my heart and not make an effort to lighten the burden.
And that’s what this letter is about — joining my voice in protest, with my neighbors and friends and community, of a president (no capital “p” — he doesn’t deserve it —) and an administration that has robbed us of our trust in our government to do what is right for us — all of us in our community and state and country and the world. We are a young country of immigrants, and we’re being shaken to our core. I do believe today there are encouraging signs that what we are doing in rising up against all the injustice is making a difference. May our hearts rest in the peace and knowledge that all will be well, however long that may take, and that we will find the courage to carry on together.
With heartfelt love and gratitude to all my brothers and sisters in our local community and throughout the country standing up and speaking out and singing —
Jill Thurston