In two days, we’ll head down to Maryland, where we’ll be staying for three full days. We will march in the Woman’s March on Washington on January 21. The rest of the time, as much as we’d like to visit other places in the city, the inauguration will likely make DC a crowded place, so we have plans to instead visit Chesapeake Bay and maybe find a cozy seafood restaurant. Do some running and/or hiking on the beach or wherever else we find that’s cool.
The march itself will likely be historical. There are some differences between this and past marches. For one, there are so many different issues we face with Donald Trump as president that this march’s statements are wide and far-reaching. Rather than just one focus (such as woman’s rights or civil rights), we are facing a large range of things, including those issues, with Trump–and even though it’s called a Woman’s March, men are encouraged to come as well.
I feel as strongly as I did in November when we booked a hotel and flight to attend. I have a stubborn little piece of my heart that cannot be swayed–and this pertains to equality among humans, climate change and scientific integrity, and many other things that guide my moral compass. Though among friends and family, I don’t discuss these things unless others bring it up, my stand is personal–shared with my husband too–and cannot be changed. While I may listen to others and give them my opinion, if they ask, I will not stand for anyone telling me what to believe in.
Further, the idea of Trump as president is nauseating. He’s not a leader, seems to care more about Russia than his own country, is self-serving rather than nation-serving (the job of a president), lies out his teeth, and degrades other humans constantly. He’s a meme president with no wisdom or compassion for others. How he got voted in is still a mystery.
This post is political, sure, but nowadays you cannot talk about life itself without looking at politics. Want to be a runner in the future? Well, what happens when Trump deregulates corporations who may be able to pump their pollution into the air, the water? Who promote fossil fuels? Have you seen photos of the Beijing Marathon or of India’s skies? Particulate matter in the air? Not a pretty sight. Not something to walk in, much less run in. Is this where we’re headed, because one man and his party have no common sense? There are many examples I could talk about, but so much progression in the environment (not enough), civil liberties, and so on, is being turned backward, and we cannot simply become indifferent or pretend it’s not happening.
It’s happening. Politics intersects life at every single step of the way. Though the woman’s march is not necessarily a protest (it’s a peaceful rallying cry), I am mad. We are mad. Trump as president brings in a dark world full of uncertainty about so many things, from nuclear war to climate change to resurgence of hatred and racism.
The featured image is by Alfred Palmer – Library of Congress CALL NUMBER LC-USW36-376, reproduction number LC-DIG-fsac-1a35072, Public Domain