The Fight for Our Democracy: A Call to Action

Understanding Our Current Reality

As I see posts celebrating happy times—whether you’re at Martha’s Vineyard or in your own backyard, enjoying family and friends—it seems we’re all trying to find ways to continue on with life as usual. But life is not “as usual.” Life is not normal right now, not in the United States of America.

I was born in 1974. Yes, I have reaped the benefits of all the hard work of Black Americans from the time of enslavement to 1965 and beyond.

I was born in 1974—the same year that women earned the right to have credit in their own names. Not because of their fathers. Not because of their brothers. Not because of their husbands, but in their own names.

I was born in 1974, a time when we were on the cusp of Reaganomics and the crack epidemic. It was a time when the increase of homelessness was believed to be the result of the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill without adequate community support.

I was born in 1974, and never in my lifetime did I think that my rights would be trampled on, dismantled, and all but eliminated.

What Do We Do?

How can we move forward?

Although crime has demonstratively decreased in DC, the President of the United States just invoked Section 740 of the Home Rule Act. This essentially allows the administration to control the Metro Police Department for a maximum of 30 days. As DC Mayor Muriel Bowser responded, such an action is “unsettling and unprecedented.”

We know at this point, as underscored in the Executive Order “Ending Crime and Disorder in America Streets,” that this administration intends to do everything “to the furthest extent of the law.” It is disappointing that those with severe mental illness—who are often also homeless—are a central focus.

We can no longer sit idly by and question what this administration’s actions and gestures mean. They mean exactly what the phrase says: “to the furthest extent of the law.” Even if we are at the boundaries of the letter of the law, the lines will be pushed.

Policies and practices of the past do not matter. Executive Orders of the past don’t matter. Local, state, and federal laws of the past don’t matter. We have a Supreme Court that is chomping at the bit to reverse laws that have been in place for decades—longer than 1974.

The Crisis We Face

We are in deep crisis. There is no longer any such thing as the start of fascism or the beginning of oligarchy. We are in full-blown authoritarianism. Full-blown autocracy.

We must join together collectively. This is no time for “it’s not me” or “I’m not into politics.”

It is you. America is the epitome of politics. And you are involved in politics whether you like it or not.

Maybe you aren’t directly feeling the effects of the last six-and-a-half months yet, but this affects all of us. Are you waiting for someone to literally come and knock at your door and provide a dissertation explaining how it impacts you?

It is you.

But even if you think it isn’t you, be an ally!

Stand for Something

In a world where most everything is under attack—with ever-changing laws, war, and genocide—stand for something! Do something! Organizations need donations, marches need participants, and boycotts need committed people who find alternatives to the creature comforts of life.

Please join together. We cannot allow the old tactic of divide and conquer to prevail. We the People have to work together to save our collective democracy—a democracy that is multicultural and multinational. A democracy that shapes and impacts our individual quality of life.

A Hopeful Perspective

From my time presenting with NAMI—the National Alliance on Mental Illness—during mandatory law enforcement training, I have tried to maintain hope that dignity and compassion will shine through. I want to believe that law enforcement officers at every level will be led by a humanitarian impulse for the homeless, for the severely mentally ill, and for those who are the most vulnerable in our communities.

If we work purposefully together, we can save our democracy.

I still have faith.

Taking Action Together

Now is the time to act. We must unite to protect our rights and the rights of others. Every voice matters. Every action counts.

Join local organizations, participate in community discussions, and stay informed. Your engagement can make a difference.

Let’s not wait for change to happen. Let’s be the change we want to see. Together, we can create a future that honors our shared humanity and upholds the values of justice and equality.

Let’s stand together and fight for our democracy.

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