My heart weeps when I see our country, conceived in liberty and developed into a more perfect union by the struggles of generations from abolitionists to suffragists to civil rights activists, overtaken by a satyr who threatens to roll back hard-won progress.
Trump and his allies use their power to grab more wealth for themselves; knock down protections for the sick, the elderly, and the poor; dismantle ladders of opportunity such as public education; and reverse environmental protection and climate action gains.
Trump represents the dark side of America, our shadow: greed, selfishness, deceit, lust, fraud, fear of the other, desire to dominate. That shadow side is now given full expression, so we can see it clearly, recoil, and make another choice.
When the worst in us rises, it can be healed by the best in us.
Our nation’s beautiful fabric is woven with the threads of many people who come here from all over the world; people of courage, imagination, generosity, and hope.
We shall rise and defend that which is best about America: a government of the people, by the people, and for the people; a nation that defends liberty and justice for all.
Our country is strongest when prosperity is shared. Our future is brightest when we align with each other and with nature. We can, and we must, address extreme income inequality and climate change.
There is danger in this moment, but also opportunity.
It’s the opportunity to rise up with our fierce love of family and Mother Nature and say, “You will not harm us! We will not allow it!” Like mother lions defending her cubs, we will defend all our children and the earth which sustains all life.
It’s the opportunity for women to lead the way to an economy that respects nature as the foundation which makes all economic activity possible, and to stop polluting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we walk upon.
And it’s the opportunity for women to support the innovative solutions that show us how we can meet our needs through a regenerative economy within a healthy, thriving world, for ourselves and for future generations.
The Chinese have an expression, “May you live in interesting times.” When I asked a friend from China what that means, she explained, “If you live in normal times, you’ll live an average life, nothing special. But if you live in challenging times, you have the opportunity to do great things, to be a hero.”
Let’s do great things together.
We have had a lot of training and experience to prepare us for this moment. It is a moment of choice, for each of us individually and for us as a nation. Let us choose wisely, and act boldly.
This is our time.
Together, we can show the way to a new world.
Eleanor LeCain is a speaker, writer and consultant focused on breakthrough solutions, author of Breakthrough Solutions: How to Improve Your Life and Change the World by Building on What Works with an introduction by the Dalai Lama, and the Mayors Guide to Accelerating Gender Equality. She hosts a solution-oriented radio show on PRN radio called All Together Now and a blog on the Huffington Post. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and daughter.