I thought I would feel morose, despondent or disenfranchised
today, but I don’t. Donald Trump was
sworn in as POTUS this morning and while I shudder, I am not sad. I am not sad because I laughed until I almost
cried in the lunchroom today. I am not
sad because my beautiful daughter left inspiring notes on my desk that I then
shared with others. I am definitely not
sad because tomorrow, tomorrow I march.
Tomorrow, I march with my daughter, with my co-workers, with
my friends and with women and men I have never seen before in my life. However, if these kindred souls have tears in
their eyes, I will know why. I march
because I can. I march, not because my candidate lost an election, but because
the one who won must be reminded that the way he treats women is not okay. I march in solidarity with others who have
been made to feel less than a man, who have been talked down to because they are
not a man, who have been discredited, discounted or discouraged simply because
they are not a man. I march because I
have gone into a business meeting with a brain full of ideas that were not
heard because someone was spending more time eyeing the length of my skirt or
the fullness of my shirt. I march
because my daughter should never experience this. I march for those who cannot, or will not, or
are too scared to go out but who feel the same.
This, this is why I march.
I march because there are so many others who want to march
this feeling out. We have been beaten, we have been humbled; we
have been singled out, called out and laughed out. We are weary and we are worn, but we are not
done. We are here to be strong for those
who need strength, to be wise for those who need wisdom and we are here to give
to those who need. And not because we
are women, but because we are human.
Humans who bleed the same red, who cry the same salty tears and who join together to remember this.
 |
| and because she marched too. |
I march because my daughter sits at the table singing John
Lennon and coloring her signs for the march.
I march because her generation sees less of a divide and more equality
than mine. I march because this is the time to do it. This time, I will stand up and say “See
me. All of me. See us.
Hear us. All of us.” I march to collect in my ears the pounding of
thousands of feet who march not to change the world, but to acknowledge our
part in it. I march to feel the
enthusiasm of like-minded people exercising their constitutional rights. I march to capture a snapshot of history in
my heart to harken me through dark times. I march, and by God, I hope that you
march too.
