Motion Masquerade

Daily writing prompt

How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?

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Right now, I don’t think we — as a nation — can afford to “unplug.” We’re facing unprecedented times in American politics; and now, more than ever, it is our responsibility to stay as informed as we possibly can.

For instance, in light of Donald Trump’s recent thirty-four felony convictions many people are asking, “Can he still run for President?” Ask Google if a felon can run for the American Presidency and you’ll find that there is no law preventing it from happening. (If you’re interested, here’s a short article from CNN that explains this mindboggling situation.)

For folks like me, however, there are bigger questions at stake. Like, how can my buddies in the manufacturing industry so strongly believe that Trump “brought back” the U.S. steel industry during his stint as the 45th President of the United States when all evidence shows that he did little to influence it at all? (See “Trump’s Steel Industry Claims” at FactCheck.org.) In some cases, in fact, the higher steel prices induced by the 25% tariff Trump imposed actually cost steelworkers their jobs.⁴

Or, how can minority voters support a candidate whose public racism hails back to the trial of the “Central Park Five” — in which Trump took out full-page ads in four New York City newspapers (before the innocent young men were convicted) with a large heading that read “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”? An action that he refuses to show any remorse for to this day.²

Why do women champion a candidate who is outwardly misogynistic, made it more difficult for women to gain access to birth control during his presidency, and has plans to further these impediments if he makes it to the White House once again? ¹

According to the Guttmacher Institute, as of May 1, 2024 forty-one states have some sort of abortion ban currently in effect:

• 14 states have a total abortion ban
• 7 states have a ban in place at or before eighteen weeks’ of pregnancy
• 2o states have a ban in place at some point after eighteen weeks’ of pregnancy

If Trump’s plan is to “require coverage of natural family planning methods and remove requirements that insurance cover certain emergency contraception” (Ollstein and Messerly) then access to safe abortions will become more and more necessary — not less. Women need to “plug in” more and start watching films like If These Walls Could Talk and Call Jane, because we’re facing a return to the late ’50s and early ’60s in reproductive health — where men are in charge of making all of the medical decisions over bodies they do not own nor understand.

And how can we, as a society, cast a vote — in good conscious — for any candidate who publicly ridicules the handicapped and neurodiverse individuals in our midst? I tutor university students with emotional, learning, and physical disabilities and they are the light and joy of my life. Often they are misunderstood (due to ignorance and misinformation) by their peers and instructors; but, having an advocate can drastically change that for the better.

We need our leaders to be people with empathy and compassion. We need leadership that understands the value of kindness and tolerance. We need representatives that are willing to listen as often as they speak. We need well-informed administrators that are more concerned with learning than they are with being right.

Donald Trump has none of these qualities. He’s a (say it with me, it’s the dreaded “F” word) fascist. Plain and simple. (Watch a few documentaries on Hitler’s rise to power and you’ll see some eerie similarities between the two.)

This isn’t the time for us to unplug, sit back on our laurels, and just wait to see what happens. We need to plug in, stay informed, talk to people, advocate for change, and take action.

Politics is a dirty game; and, our choices are always limited. Sometimes it simply comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils.

Sources Cited

1. Ollstein, Alice Miranda, and Megan Messerly. “Trump Says He Won’t ‘Ban’ Birth Control. Here’s What He May Do Instead.” Politico, Politico LLC, 29 May 2024, www.politico.com/news/2024/05/29/trump-birth-control-contraception-00159555#:~:text=He%20has%20made%20that%20crystal%20clear.%E2%80%9D&text=Asked%20if%20Trump%20plans%20to,control%2C%20or%20other%20contraceptives.%E2%80%9D. Accessed 31 May 2024.
2. Ransom, Jan. “Trump Will Not Apologize for Calling for Death Penalty Over Central Park Five.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 18 June 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/nyregion/central-park-five-trump.html.
3. Robertson, Lori. “Trump’s Steel Industry Claims – FactCheck.org.” FactCheck.org, 29 Aug. 2019, www.factcheck.org/2019/08/trumps-steel-industry-claims.
4. Singh, Rajesh Kumar. “Trump Steel Tariffs Bring Job Losses to Swing State Michigan.” Reuters, 9 Oct. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN26V06M. Accessed 31 May 2024.
5. “State Bans on Abortion Throughout Pregnancy.” Guttmacher Institute, 2 May 2024, www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-policies-abortion-bans#:~:text=41%20STATES%20HAVE%20ABORTION%20BANS,have%20a%20total%20abortion%20ban.