Are We Great, Yet?

America now sits 62 days into a new administration and watched the country either become great, or flipped upside down based on your political perspective. Democrats in office feel powerless because the three branches of government are Republican controlled. Americans who are angry are fighting against elected officials at town hall meetings, or protesting in the streets. Almost every day the country makes international headline with a new executive order flying out from the oval office, each one directed towards reshaping Americans’ lives. To fellow Americans, I have a few questions regarding if we are great, yet.

1. How does alienating people make our country great?

One of the very first executive orders issued is America will be a country based solely on two genders, negating research conducted by many American scholars of sociology. The Administration’s rigid stance on gender forcefully puts Americans into two categories. Painting the queer community as a dangerous component of America needing to be eliminated.

What the Administration refuses to recognize is the queer community celebrates people’s uniqueness and authenticity. The queer community uplifts individuals who challenge gender norms and display their belonging in the world. How is someone living their life as their true self a danger to others? Women dressing more masculine, or men dressing more feminine, do not pose a threat to the livelihood of others. If you are against it, you have a right to ignore it, but erasing them does not make our country great. It shows blatant bigotry.

2. How does prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion make our country great?

Shortly after proclaiming America as a country with solely two genders, the Administration rollback initiatives encourage a diverse, equitable, and inclusive America. The initiative encourages companies to build a balanced workforce to better represent who we are as a country. A nation put together by various cultures and people.

Eliminating the initiative reverses the progress we have made since the 70s. Furthermore, claiming plane crashes, or the invalidity of a person, because of DEI, pushes a racist propaganda. Mainstream America has been pushing for its citizens to understand what Martin Luther King Jr. believed, “we should be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin.” We are all human and capable of learning, but people of color are forced back into an era of America where they will be judge on their skin and not other qualifications they have. This makes America great for only one group of people, and it is a move that needs to be challenged daily.

An example of the erasure of diversity is the instant deportation or immigrants. An executive order issued by the Administration required all “illegal” immigrants to be deported immediately. This resulted in legal immigrants also being deported and since has escalated to refusing entry to America by certain foreign travelers. How is this making America, the land of the free, great?

3. How is restricting freedom of speech making America great?

America loves to tout about freedom of speech. In America, many people believe, “I can say what I want, freedom of speech.” To justify this statement, Elon Musk purchased and restructured the then twitter into a social media app to allow free speech (unless it targets Musk). True, you can say whatever you want, but there are always going to be consequences based on what you say and how you say it. Most Americans refrain from touting hate speech, and there are heavy consequences for those who do. In regards to politicians, Americans spoke freely about their feelings either in favor or against political outcomes. Unfortunately, with the new administration, the rules have changed dramatically. The Administration revokes federal funding for schools using “pronouns.” Pronouns, which are part of the English language. College students holding protests against the administration can also be reasons for revoking funding from the higher educational institution. Public K-12 schools can lose funding for teaching about history (true American history regarding slavery, oppression from colonizers, etc). Additionally, public schools risk losing federal funding for teaching about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Considering most schools in America comprised diverse ethnically students with a wide-range of needs to be successful in learning. Bottom line, our right to freedom of speech is being restricted by this new administration.

Where do we go from here?

If you are BIPOC and/or part of the LGBTQ community, like myself, you know we are living through very threatening times. Your feelings are valid. This administration wants to erase us, strip our rights, and make our country true one nation, with one set of cultural rules. Rules which do not include us, or our history. Many people like us, who are angry, terrified, worried about our existence, have left the country, or are planning to. Others do not have the option to leave. There is still hope.

What we can do is build a community. Become acquainted with your neighbors and the people who live around you. Show people this administration is wrong. Display the beauty of your culture and share it with others to melt the walls of fear surrounding them. Expanding their perspective to appreciate what diverse cultures offer. Encourage others to embrace uniqueness and the definition of authenticity. Share our happy stories so others know there is success in being different. If you are brazen enough, join protests and support the efforts of people who want to save our country from falling into the clutches of an authoritarian government. We are a stronger nation, united and diverse, than we are separate.