America is Dead. Long Live America.

Everyone you have ever trusted has lied to you.

Your parents. Teachers. Coaches. Your clergy. Every single one of them.

When you were younger and learning about the world they looked you in the eye and told you lie after lie after lie.

“America is the greatest nation in the world.”

“God is great and Jesus loves you.”

“If you do the right thing good things will happen for you.”

“There will always be good people, the helpers. Look to the helpers.”

Hell, even Mr. Rogers lied to you.

So what?

They lied not because they were malicious or evil, but because they wanted to believe in something better than the truth. They wanted you to grow up believing in right and wrong, in justice and fairness and mutual respect. Or at least the version they believed in.

They wanted you to believe in America. Not an America that has ever existed, but one that could exist. The promise of a government that the Founding Fathers could only imagine, their hypocritical natures getting the better of even them.

But the past couple weeks have ripped away the scales, have revealed the United States for what it truly is: a house of cards kept standing only by hopes and dreams and ignorance. One easily knocked aside by a few greedy men and women who care more about making a dollar than ideas of good and evil.

How fucking boring.

I’ve spent most of the past week horrified, and then grieving. I’ve been angry that my elected officials seem to be more interested in building political goodwill than making a real stand in Congress and I’ve been depressed that I gave the better part of my youth fighting for and serving a country that was only ever made of smoke and mirrors, a magic trick perpetuated by corporations. Look at the terrorists and never mind your individual rights.

But then I realized that I was made for this moment. Not because of what everyone has told me my entire life, but because of what I believe.

I believe that people have the right to exist and to thrive, no matter what skin they inhabit.

I believe that love is the most important thing of all, and that fairness and equity matter.

I believe that the truly good things, the things in the world that make a difference, cannot be bought.

I believe that we can be better than our worst natures. Not because of some uncaring all-seeing father in the sky, but because we are better when we are kind.

And I realized that people are always suffering. Governments are always collapsing and rebuilding. This time it just feels terrible because its mine.

There is no reason to wallow. Okay, there are tons of reasons to roll about in despair but we shouldn’t. The things that mattered before January 20, 2025 still matter, and we can still work our way to them.

We can call our representatives so that our voices are heard.

We can march if we are able and we can support organizations doing the work of change however we can.

We can create art and stories that will speak far longer than we will. And we can support that art and those stories that show us how to co-exist, to challenge, and to thrive.

We can love, fully and enthusiastically.

And we will fight. Because are long as we draw breath we can resist.

They want us to despair. But we will not.

Because we have work to do.