Oh Haggard, I would not be you for all the world. You have let your doom in by the front door, but it shall not depart that way ~ The Last Unicorn
Dear States
I can no longer in all justice, call you “United” because from what I have seen, that seems to be no longer truly the case, never have I seen a nation more divided within itself than you. Nor will I call you America, because America is vast and continental and includes more than just one country within its edges. Perhaps that is part of the problem, perhaps many of your citizens have forgotten that.
I am tempted to tell you to “go to your room and think about what you’ve done”, but this is not the time for jokes, nor is in the time for drama – we have enough of that already. And heaven knows we are not perfect on this side of the border either. So know that I am not attempting to be dramatic, I am merely expressing myself the best and only way I know how.
I have only one question for you: why?
Why have you let this happen?
Why have you chosen to elect as your leader a man who stands so proudly against everything you claim to be built on. If ever someone seemed to openly stand against freedom, this is it. And haven’t you always claimed to be about freedom?
Someone tried to explain to me that the reason this happened was because of fear that the other choice would have disarmed America. News flash, that is not possible. Wherever I stand on gun rights, disarming a nation in which those privileges are so embedded into the national history would be physically impossible. Say what you will about yourselves and what your country was founded on, but I do not believe you were ever inherently violent, people change, times change and so should laws, I do not believe that your founding policy was a right to maim and murder others at gun point. You were built on the belief that freedom was worth fighting for, that standing up for your rights was worth risking your life, and that tyranny was something to be fought against. That was what made you great. Now you have elected tyranny. You have betrayed yourself.
Fear for your privileges has led you to elect to the position of ultimate power in your country someone who has openly opposed the rights of women, LGBTQ, minorities and immigrants. Fear for your privileges has caused a rift so deep within yourself that I fear it may never be healed. Fear and ignorance have won you over to the side of hatred in the name of progress. Progress is a two-way sword, it can go either direction…it may serve you well to remember that.
People have asked me why I am frightened by this outcome, because I am Canadian and therefore it shouldn’t be my business. But you are one of the greatest powers in the world, and the border between our two very different yet very similar countries is one of the longest undefended stretches in the world. There are those who say that when you catch a cold, we sneeze. Those who think that the world will not be effected by this decision are perhaps best and most kindly described as cock-eyed optimists to say the least. The policies and statements that have been put forth will affect us all. We are, after all, one of your biggest trade partners, though that too, may perhaps be slated to change.
For me personally? I am just one insignificant person, but like so many others, I have a stake in the world. For all that I am “pretty enough to pass” and have a happy “conventional” relationship, my heart is with my brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community, I am one of them and I always have been. I have people – I have Pack – in the central reaches of your blood-red core for whom I am justly worried. I know people who will be directly affected by the policies that were put forward during this campaign, I know people who are terrified for their livelihood and their homes as a result of this decision. I am a woman, who looks at the possible turning over of her fellow women’s bodies to control of the government and quails on their behalf. I am fortunate enough to be Caucasian, but I know that to be a privilege and fear for those who do not possess it.
Time will tell whether or not the damage this turn of events may cause will be as drastic as the world seems to fear. Perhaps we are all over-reacting, perhaps we would be best to not say anything…
But then again perhaps not saying anything is what got us here in the first place…
But also, none of that matters. Not anymore. Not in the same way. Because it’s done and dusted. You have done what you’ve done, as foolish as it is. Because you have spoken, you have made your call, you have made your decision, and now we all have to live with it. We all have to do our best to work with it and through it, though most of us will never respect it and please do not ask us to – spewing more hatred and more doom and gloom will solve nothing…
This is not a peaceful moment for the world, for many it is indeed a call to arms, but we do need to pause and take a moment before we grab up words and weapons and head for the hills…
Railing against you will not change what you have done, it will not repair the damage it will not improve the situation.
Because now that you have made this call, whether it means our “doom” or not…we must “look at [him] for a while”..
Just don’t expect us to respect you for it…and don’t expect us to be joyful about it.
Because that, my dear friends across the border, would be asking and expecting too much,
Regretfully yours