Going Forward

You’ve probably heard the slogan “Taking America back” and the rebuttal “We’re not going back”. What do we mean by saying that we are not going back? We mean we are not repeating our past mistakes. We are not backtracking and retracing our steps. We are not losing ground on the progress we have made nationally and globally. We want to continue moving forward towards the dream of equality, freedom and justice for all people.

We are not going back to stealing land and calling it our own. (Because really the native indigenous people of this continent are the only ones who have a right to say “take America back”.) We will stand with Ukraine, Palestine, Greenland, and Canada.

We are not going back to treating people like animals and separating them from their families and their homes. This is unacceptable and illegal. People have been wearing masks to carry out inhumane, evil acts against other humans for centuries. We will not tolerate it.

We are not going back to marching shaved and chained humans to their death in concentration camps, prisons, or “Terrorism Confinement Centers”. We have something call due process and something called law which our current commander in chief ignores. How can we know if these men were legal or illegal immigrants, or if they were guilty of any crimes if they were not allowed an opportunity to provide documentation or have their day in court? We will help and defend our hard-working, law-abiding neighbors from foreign lands who make our country great.

We are not going back to a time when LGBTQ+ people were treated as criminals and forced to hide who they truly are. They are not hurting anyone and just want to be their authentic selves and love who they love. We will defend transgender children and adults from the onslaught of hate and violence directed at them.

We are not going back to children not having a right to an education or to adequate nutrition or healthcare. We are not going back to children being taught propaganda to ensure loyalty to a dictator or king.

We are not going back to having no warning or prevention of mass casualties from viral pandemics or destructive weather events. Science and knowledge are necessary tools for the survival of mankind.

We are not going back to a time when women and people of color did not have the freedom to vote or have control over their own bodies. We are not giving up our right to freedom of speech and to protest. We will fight for and celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion of all people of all ethnicities, abilities, genders, age, economic status, religion, and sexual orientation. We will continue to love and honor all people everywhere because it is the right thing to do.

“We are not going back.”