We are living through a time of great upheaval and change. We could view this as very scary, and I sometimes do. However, the reality is that change is inevitable, and with change comes an opportunity to make a decision towards better circumstances. The status quo was not working, and I believe that Trump’s two presidencies and all that came with them exposed just how unsatisfied we all were and are under the status quo. I would have never chosen such an ill-equipped man to spark that change, but sometimes things have to get worse before they get better in order to fully expose the rot underneath our societal norms and institutions. And so here we are.

We have a choice now to choose a truly democratic way, led by those who wish to govern society to make our lives better, more affordable, and more equitable. Or we could keep the status quo where oligarchs rule over us and we continue to buy into the lie that our neighbors are causing our strife rather than the tech oligarchs and wealthy elite who buy up our elections and set legislation, tipping the scales to benefit only themselves. There are so many Democratic candidates running in local and state elections who look and think like us, every day Americans. They are not taking big tech, corporate PAC, or AIPAC money. These candidates are running because they’re ready for lasting change to even the playing field and put everyday Americans first. This includes the poor, the middle class, the farmer, the small business owner, the immigrant, the brown person, the black person, the union worker, the middle manager, the military vet, the trans person, and everyone in between who just wants what we all want: a wage we can build a life on, equal opportunity to find work, own a home, and put food on the table, the freedom to have a family or not have one, and the ability to live freely without the burden of government patrolling our streets, our patronage, or our homes. The United States of America was built on the dream of the land of opportunity; it was built for migrants; it was also built on the genocide of Native Americans and the backs of slaves. We don’t have a perfect history, but we’ve made strides to correct and atone for our sins and continue to do better. That is the beauty of our Constitution, and it is the beauty of a democracy…that we can always correct and redirect and continue to move towards that beautiful arc of justice.

And there is a lot to atone for…corruption, racism, misogyny, patriarchy, colonialism, and all the “isms” that try to draw a line in the sand of who is a true American with all the rights that our country promises for. We have an opportunity on Tuesday, November 3rd to elect candidates who truly represent the Kaleidoscope of Americans and immigrants that exist in this country, a multicultural mosaic of diversity that can only breed strength through that accurate representation. I believe in us to right this ship. We are sick and tired of division, hatred, and identity politics. We all want safety, security, friendship, joy, and love. We will only find that through our collective voice that demands equality, justice, fairness, and empathy.

That brings me to my own current dilemma. In this reckoning of a deeply skewed and shaken society, I have always been a passionate advocate of women’s rights. The issue of the feminine and our value in society has always run deeply in the drawn lines of our American (and worldly) existence. But we have reached a tipping point of no return when it comes to what women will no longer put up with and will demand going forward. I will not stay silent in those demands. My outspokenness could be viewed as man-hating or misandry by those who misunderstand me or haven’t experienced or even thought about how women are forced to live even in this pseudo-democracy. Over the last fifty years, women have gained a lot of hard fought power in the form of finally being allowed to be appropriately educated, to choose our futures in the form of both opportunity and birth control, to be found equal in the eyes of the law and in the ability to participate in all institutions. Through that newfound power, we have excelled at a very high rate, slowly surpassing men in terms of educational success. Although that success has not borne out in earning or institutional power, we have been able to carve out lives that look more like what we want instead of what the dominating sex might want. We can earn our own living, buy our own houses, determine our own futures, and we are not going back to a time where we no longer have that agency. The feminine/masculine culture war will inevitably wage on but, much like the race issue, progress cannot be stopped, and women have progressed to a point where we will start demanding equal representation, and we will demand to see more matriarchal power which centers children and the most vulnerable in society, rather than a hierarchy of white men ruling over everyone else with their bombs and their wars and their misogyny. Matriarchies recognize all genders, races, ethnicities, abilities/disabilities, sexual and gender identities, age differences as inherently human and, therefore, worthy of respect, dignity, and care. There is no hierarchy; there is only how we take care of each other so that all may thrive in our communities.

It is my hope that men who truly understand our plight will join us in creating such a world. I envision a world where society protects the most vulnerable, where men and women lead with equal representation, where men protect women in vulnerable positions rather than exploit them, where men and women also share the domestic and family responsibilities, building on the strengths of each individual as opposed to misleading and outdated gender roles. I would also like to see communities step up in childrearing responsibilities, with the understanding that a community raises a child, not only individual parents. Our government should exist to support the community endeavor, not the Capitalist oligarch’s agenda of tax cuts and an extension of increased power imbalances and anti-democratic policy making. We are done with the tech overlord agenda. It isn’t sustainable, and it is very dangerous for both wealth inequality but also on fronts of climate change, overpolicing, out of control surveillance, and fascistic tendencies. Too much power in the hands of a few has never boded well for the general public.

I think we all know what we need to do before and on November 3rd. We must vote BLUE down ballot to oust the corrupted Republican party, which will hopefully force them to evolve back to a healthy institution or, if that isn’t possible, create a new one. We need two viable parties to hold each other in check, but the Republican Party has failed at this and has morphed into a fascist dictatorial cult. We need to get back to reaching across the aisle and demanding that our politicians work together to SERVE the community and pass popular legislation again. We can do this, America. I believe in the American project as it was intended, and I believe we can find our soul again.