Feb. 5th, 2020
Today Donald J. Trump was acquitted on both articles of impeachment. Senators representing roughly 150 million Americans voted for the acquittal, ensuring the president does not suffer any consequences for his “inappropriate behavior”. Senators representing roughly 170 million Americans voted to convict him but their votes did not matter in the end.
For most of the afternoon, I felt like I did on election night when the majority of Americans chose someone else for president, but because of how flawed our election system is, the guy most of us didn’t want, actually ended up in the oval office.
It leaves me feeling like nothing matters. If our reality doesn’t matter and our voice doesn’t matter and consequences don’t exist, then why even bother with anything? How can I still be preaching about honesty, integrity and honor when these ideas are basically laughed at daily by our establishment and treated like quaint relics of the past? It’s so easy to feel discouraged and to give in to the helplessness that’s fighting to wash over me.
I might have allowed that to happen if I didn’t have to go back to work for a full afternoon and evening of clients. And while sitting with clients this afternoon, I remembered why I couldn’t just give up. My clients needed me. My case load includes sexual abuse survivors, members of the LGBTQ community, undocumented immigrants, recent refugees, chronic pain sufferers and the underprivileged and underserved. Their pain is real. And this administration has done nothing but re-traumatize them. So, my anger at the state of our country today is not just mine. It is theirs too. Every day I sit with people who, in the midst of trying to heal from past wounds, have to navigate the current, very real threats to their safety and stability. And while it is my privilege and honor to walk the path towards healing with my clients, I also have to acknowledge that I’m tired. We are all so tired. Tired of the lies, tired of the hate and the gaslighting. And I’m tired of working overtime to counteract the insanity! Every day is a struggle to rise above it all.
But we can’t become idle. We have to keep moving forward and speaking up and fighting for what’s right. Each of us have our own resources that we can tap into in order to feel more aligned with ourselves. For me that resource is my connection to other like-minded people. I know that when I’m with my friends who see the world the same way I do, I feel more hopeful. I’m not suggesting we all create our own bubbles and stay in them. But I know that when I’m more hopeful, I have more agency to take the steps that I need to take towards a more just world. Being around my friends, I am reminded that there are “more of us than them”.
The senators who voted to acquit the president said that they wanted to leave the decision of his removal in the hands of the American voter. That’s not how the impeachment process is supposed to work, but fine. If it is up to US, and there are still more of us who believe the president is unfit for office, then ALL of us need to vote him out in November.
My efforts in the next months leading up to the election will go towards making sure every eligible voter is registered to vote and does so in the coming election. I hope you join me.
