Do not go gentle

Trump and his supporters won this battle, but the war continues. Fight it with love
“Do not go gentle into that good night.”

Now, perhaps more than ever before in our lives, Dylan Thomas’ quote rings true.
Donald Trump will be the next president. It’s okay to be scared; it’s okay to cry.
It’s not okay to give up.

Today is a new day, and each of us face new battles of our own waiting to be fought. And we have to be strong enough to fight them.

So wipe your tears, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Now is not the time to sit; it’s the time to stand — to stand for the people you love, to stand for what you believe in, to stand against Trump.

We grieved, now we fight.

The American people failed. We failed to overcome hate. And a people governed by hate rather than reason and compassion is bound to collapse.

As such, we must embrace each other with as much love as we can find right now and for the next four years. Hold people; listen; build community.

We, as a country, have come too far to stand aside as Trump tries to lay waste to all the progress we’ve made. We can’t let the efforts of MLK, Malcom X, James Baldwin, Marsha P Johnson, Harvey Milk, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Caeser Chavez, Shirley Chisholm, Jeannette Rankin, Sojourner Truth and so many more be in vain.

They all fought for something, and they all fought against something. They won some battles and lost others, but their names are enshrined in history because they succeeded.

Learn about them. Fight like them. Fight for their dreams and for your own.

If you’re looking to get involved, there are many ways to fight the upcoming administration:
You could work with the ACLU. They take volunteers and are gearing up to battle Trump’s agenda in court. They need all the help they can get.

You could work with local government. Push your municipal representatives to shelter your community from Trump’s work by passing safe haven laws, committing to protecting the rights of its residents, etc.

You could join a mutual aid group. Those who are economically disadvantaged will need help; it is vital that everyone supports each other through the upcoming tax cuts for the wealthy and impending tariffs.

Do not feel powerless, because you are powerful; there are countless ways you can gear up to fight Donald Trump like the examples above.

But do not fight with hate, because if you do, you will tire out too soon. No, you must fight with love — love for the people you care about, love for the things you believe in, love for the promise of America.

And please, dear reader, don’t you ever feel alone: 68 million people love you; 68 million people voted for your rights; 68 million people stand with you; 68 million people will fight for you.

We’ll get through this by being our own refuge until it’s through. We need to make this hard for him: Swamp the polls at midterms; get involved in local politics; litigate everything; fight tooth and nail with all our strength.

The next four years will be tough, but we will be tougher.

Will Reames is a senior at Marquette University studying political science and theater arts. He was raised in North Texas by two moms who taught him the importance of helping others, which is the basis of his work.