My only post on the election results

Well, I was right last week when I told you voting changes things. A lot is going to change. And, if President Trump is anything like Candidate Trump, those changes are going to be overwhelmingly for the worse. After talking with my family, here are the two Harry Potter quotes that frame my thoughts on where we go from here.



"The world is not divided into good people and Death Eaters"
Last month I said:

Voting for a sexist is a sexist act.

Voting for a racist is a racist act.

Voting for a hateful person is a hateful act.

Voting for a fool is a foolish act.

I stand by those words. But I also know the difference between the "what you did" and the "what you are" conversation (I can't find the original video to embed, so here's a link):

Yes he had the endorsement of a former KKK Grand Wizard, but not all of his voters are Klan members. Most of Trump's voters chose him despite his hatefulness, not because of it. That doesn't mean those voters are off the hook. They still did something sexist, something racist, something hateful, and something foolish. But we all do sexist, racist, hateful, or foolish things. America is not divided into good people and racists, sexist, hateful fools.

The world is not divided into good people and Death Eaters.

"...you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy."

When January 20th comes around, we'll have a lot of work to do. Like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I hope that Donald Trump is a wonderful president who does great things for this country. But (and they won't say this anymore), like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I don't trust the man, and I doubt he'll do much good.  Not everything he does will be straight up Nazi level evil. But many people are in danger from Trump's presidency. It will be easy to watch some snarky Colbert clips, like some memes, and share occasionally insightful Huffington Post articles. But that doesn't get things done.

Getting things done will mean organizing, will mean showing up, will mean protesting and taking risks. I'm reminded of the words of my favorite Peruvian hymn, "El Profeta" (The Prophet)

Tengo que arriesgar...Tengo que luchar (I have to risk it, I have to fight)

Ay de mi si no lo hago (Shame on me if I do not).

I don't know those risks yet, but I'm sure they're worth taking. I don't know exactly what the fight will look like yet, but I'm sure it's worth fighting.

It will be easy for this upper middle class white boy to sit home, shake my head in disgust, and ride out the next 4 years. But I owe it to my friends, to my family, to basic human dignity, to participate actively in this upcoming struggle. It's my duty to choose what's right over what's easy.

Shame on me if I do not.