Republicans, May I Have a Word?
I’ve worked on this ‘letter’ for a few days. I have hundreds of pages of things to say. None of them seem sufficient, smart, or well-put-together. But I’ve come to realize that there are people much dumber than me with louder voices and too much podium time, and I want to get this out so I can move on with my life.
I feel like we just did this. In 2016 and 2020, we just did this, right? It feels like it was yesterday. Maybe that’s because we haven’t gotten a break from the endless string of bad news and your screaming faces every time we turn on the TV. I am trying to stay out of the swamp and out of your way because, damn, have ya’ll become hateful and dangerous. But I am finding that’s not possible because you won’t get out of mine. So here I am. Yes, it’s personal. It’s very personal, and I’m hopefully only going to say this once because I want to go back to writing about things that make me happy. Like running. Or traveling. Or talking about how much I hate cooking. Really, anything that doesn’t involve politics.
I don’t want to do this anymore. It doesn’t bring me joy to write this. I want to bake cookies for my kids, run, drive, and live without being followed, come home without finding someone has broken into my home, check my email without having to play whack-a-mole, go to the doctor without worrying, go to the police when I feel unsafe. and just generally live like a human being should be allowed to live. I want to go a whole week without having to feel like I need to check the news just to see how much worse it’s gotten and gauge how much I should worry. I want to live a life that has nothing to do with this shit. But damn, are ya’ll fucking thirsty. You’re like vampires.
The whole state of our country is gross and sad, and I just want to look away until November. But I can’t because everywhere I turn, there you are, infecting my life. And I’m tired of being screamed at by people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Katie Britt. Nice rebuttal to the SOTU, by the way, Katie. I assume we are on a first-name basis now; after all, we share several things in common I’m sure weren’t all by design, right? Either way, noted.
Yeah, I watched the State of the Union last week. I had my children watch, too, and while it was painful to see all of you sitting there so smug, it gave me the tiniest bit of hope to see some nice people on the side of the betterment of our country. It’s hard to see them through the screens of the horror movie that has become our every day news cycle. Yet, there they were. Finally, some smiles and kindness on faces.
Hey, ladies, I’m not worried about the border. I’m worried about you and the men you sit next to. I’m worried about my weird, shady neighbor. I’m worried about that bullied kid who decides to bring a gun to school and use it. I’m worried about the corruption in our cities. I’m worried about the white man at the mall who brought a semi-automatic weapon just for funsies. I’m worried about that wannabe dictator you support and what he’s going to do next. I’m worried about the people I know. I’m worried every time I travel to Missouri. I’m worried about my ex-husband. I’m worried about everything. Because every experience of violence I have had has been at the hands of people I knew, were related to, or by people in your party. Want receipts? I have them. Just ask.
I’m worried about the total obliteration of privacy in this country that no one else seems to be concerned about. I’m worried about AI and the complete lack of regulation and the manipulation of information being pushed to my family and my children. I’m worried about their education because ya’ll have been on a book-banning binge and don’t seem to care when a kid shoots up a school. I’m worried about their identities being stolen. I’m worried about women having the right to make decisions about their own bodies. I’m worried about our LQBTQ+ communities. I’m worried about my black and brown friends. I’m worried about keeping my kids alive. And you’re worried about migrants. Just wait until China and Russia come knocking. Breaking news, they already are, and I promise you they are a much bigger threat to this country than that family at the border. By the way, Katie, I’m sure you don’t want Bennett roofing houses, do you? Who do you think does those jobs? I can tell you, most of the time, it ain’t us.
You want the strongest country in the world? Get the priorities straight. Or everyone else will get them straight for us. We could easily be the most powerful country in the world by standing together against hate and the people who prostitute themselves in the name of MAGA. It’s not all migrants on those dirty mattresses. Why do you hate love so much? Hate is the quickest way to war. And it’s sad how many of you stand ready for battle, rifles in hand, against your own people. Trust me, other countries are capitalizing on our stupidity, and oh, how easy it has been. We have become an example for other countries on what not to do, and everyone I talk to wants to skip town if Trump gets elected again. What does that tell you?
Psychos think war is fun. Psychos get off on this version of reality TV they want to push off as government. It’s astounding how brave I’ve been, how brave so many other people have been, and how weak and scared many of you have been. You know damn well Trump is not good for anyone. You know if you rose up against him, and people like him, you could piece together what’s left of your party and find some decency and some common ground with the rest of us. But you’re too busy fucking screaming at us and hiding under your desks from Trump. We know you don’t like him. You’re terrified of him. Maybe you think you’re not smart enough or strong enough to stand up against him, but you are. You want power? You can have it, by standing up and proclaiming enough is enough. By being brave. I can’t imagine, that this is fun for any of you. Don’t you want to turn the tables? Or are you ready for more of the same and worse? This isn’t about winning or losing. There is no winning or losing in November. We will still be fighting for women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. We will still be fighting racism and sexism and all the other isms. We will still be fighting for decent health care. We will still be fighting for safer schools for our children. We will still be fighting for common-sense gun laws. So no, winning in November isn’t an option for any of us. At this point, it’s become a matter of life and death.
It’s not a choice between the lesser of two evils. There is evil, and there is not. It’s that simple. Your party doesn’t have to be evil. You silenced Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney because they were standing up for what was right. Because they sounded sane. When in reality, they are really the kind of people that should be representing your party. They are the kind of people who could keep your party strong. But you’d rather grab your guns and shoot the rest of us before you admit you may have been wrong. I don’t like to be wrong either, but I’d much rather be wrong about how I think of you and what I think you have planned for us than I am right. I would love to be wrong all day long. But I’m not, am I?
Unfortunately, we all have to be in this fucking dark, dank room. You built it with your book bans, anti-abortion laws, and hate. All we wanted was to be treated with human dignity and the tiniest bit of respect. But you go on national TV and insult us, make horrible memes about us, and spend our own money to attack us and fund this reality show Trump has built for you. You dress up in your anger and shove your pins in our faces, all for your 15 minutes of fame. It’s a shame. Say what you want about Democrats, but we aren’t trying to take away human rights, and we don’t tell people to go fuck themselves on national TV. We don’t spread conspiracy theories about space lasers and COVID and stealing elections. Do you know my children were told that teachers were making students pee in litter boxes and that COVID tests could double as pregnancy tests? I’ve seen and experienced just how low you can go.
I don’t care if we don’t agree on everything. I get it. But at least don’t do more harm than good. You want to focus on our country and not help others? Fine. But you’re not even focusing on helping the people in this country, and you fail to realize when war comes to our doorstep, you are going to be begging for help for your children’s lives, and you will wonder why no one came. As a mother or a father, every child should be your child, but if you can’t do that, don’t expect help when our country’s at war and it’s your children’s lives that are in danger.
We are too far gone, they say. We are too divided, they say. That’s not far from the truth, but it’s not irreversible. Because if it is, we are fucked. This country is doomed. Are you going to let Trump do that? Do you care more about your own safety than doing what is right? Even I, with nothing and no one, a single mom with everything to lose, have held onto my values, even under what feels like a constant threat, and like a lot of others like me, we have stood. Broken. Beaten. Threatened. And still, here we are. Where are you? Comfy behind your desks. Because you give him exactly what he wants, and as long as you mind him, you will feel safe. That’s how dangerous he is and has been to the rest of us. We haven’t been safe since 2106, and I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in years.
You couldn’t even rise out of your chairs during the State of the Union for one thing Biden said. The man who has lost so much and still maintains his sense of character and integrity. The man who stands there with love in his heart, and you couldn’t even fucking clap, once, because it wasn’t your hate mascot standing up there. Because you were on TV, and you knew he was watching, and you were terrified he’d see. That’s not masculinity, femininity, individuality, or bravery; that’s cowardice. Not one good thing could any of you be man or woman enough to stand up and clap for. I couldn’t believe my eyes, but then I could. It was the same look of disdain and hate we all have become very familiar with.
You know what we see in Biden? A man who isn’t trying to kill us. A man who sees a single mom like me struggling to stay housed and my kids fed. A man trying to give me a break by canceling some student loan debt for two degrees that I don’t even use. But instead of worrying about the people already in your country, the Americans that live here, you’re worried about fighting over the border and distracting us with IVF laws and book bans. It is so immature even my 12 year old could see it. We all live on the same planet. You can care about yourselves and others. The two are not mutually exclusive.
But here we all stay stuck in this burning room, and no one can seem to find the fucking doorknob. I know because I’ve been looking for it. I hope I find it, and I hope you find it, too. Because there is a way out of this and the answer isn’t Trump. You know this already. If he is elected, he will burn this country to the ground, and none of us will ever find the door again.
I hope you will be brave this November because I can tell you if Biden was the bad guy and Mitt Romney was the good guy, I’d vote for Romney in a heartbeat. If Biden were threatening us, I’d vote for the Republican.
Just look at Kansas. They did it. The Republican nominee was so bad a very red state voted a Democrat in. The people of the state came together and reasonably said, “hell no.” So don’t tell me we are over here trying to win when we are just trying to fucking stay alive. AND MAYBE, just maybe, be allowed to live a little freer and finally remove that noose around our necks.
If it’s Biden’s age you want to talk about, well, let me offer this. I’d much rather have a sleepy, kind, forgetful President over an insomniac, egomaniac, hateful dictator who wants to take all of our rights away and doesn’t care if we live or die. You know he doesn’t care about a single one of you, right? Plus, let’s just be real, Biden has been doing this job long enough that he could literally do it in his sleep. I don’t care if he takes a nap in the middle of the day; Kamala’s perfectly capable of running the country for a few hours. In fact, we could use more of her. Women in this country want to feel represented, and I believe she does that well. Yes, there needs to be an age limit on the presidency, but we can’t even agree on Daylight Savings Time and a woman’s right to choose, so arguing over it right now is a moot point.
Aren’t ya’ll tired of this constant bickering? Jesus Christ. I’m not the most emotionally intelligent person, but even I can see how disgusting this has all gotten. Let’s grow up a little, shall we? And I’m not just talking about one side or the other. Both sides. I know that’s impossible for everyone, but I have to believe the collective is smarter than this. Otherwise, let’s go ahead and hand over the keys to ALL the bad guys. Cause they are a-knockin’, and they seem to have a few master keys, so please, let’s change the locks and stop letting them in.
Don’t you want more for your kids? Don’t you want more for yourself? This country? I know I do. You don’t have to stick to the script Trump wrote for you, and I know most of you are much smarter than he will ever be. Have you heard him speak? He sounds like an overgrown, angry toddler. I’ve gotten really cynical the last 8 years, but even I can find hope in the strangest of places. And my hope is that you will find it in your souls to stop this madness and come together to defeat the hate that is on the ballot this year.
I want you to be my neighbor. I want you to be my friend. Naive? Maybe. Probably. But I remember days before 2016 when that was true. Party affiliation did not matter. There were cookouts and play dates, and no one cared if there was a difference of opinion because they had more in common than they didn’t. There was mutual respect and an understanding that doesn’t exist today. How did it get this way? One man. One man tore apart our neighbors, our friends, our families, and our country. Please don’t allow him to do that again. He isn’t the answer. We are the answer.
Let’s take this country back to a place we recognize again. Please.
