After slavery was abolished in the United States, there was huge pushback against that progress, but we still moved forward. After schools were ordered to integrate and racial discrimination in voting was outlawed, there was again significant pushback. Still, we moved forward.
Over the past eight years, we welcomed our first black president, our the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the legalization of same-sex marriage and many other forms of progress. Now, with the election of Donald Trump, we are grappling with the pushback. But again, we will move forward.
As much as Donald Trump and his supporters think that this country is “theirs” and theirs alone, it is ours too, and those of us who reject racism, misogyny, Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry are going to make sure that we move our country forward despite this regression just like those who came before us moved this country forward in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Regardless of my disappointment in the election of a bully who threatens to undermine every aspect of our democracy, I truly believe that the fight for racial, gender, religious and other forms of equality will ultimately prevail, not only because I have faith in historical precedent, but also because I have faith in the ultimate power of truth over the myths that people like Donald Trump are spreading. In fact, if any positive can come from this, it is that Donald Trump’s campaign and victory have exposed the sickness of prejudice in this country so thoroughly that we will be more able to treat it than ever before.
With all of that said, I hope that like-minded people believe in the ultimate power of truth and equality over their alternatives because, over the next four years and probably longer, we’re going to have a lot of work to do.
Alisa Robinson
Oak Park