A New Road

The flag code describes that the upside down flag may be used only "as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property." We have well exceeded that requirement, at this point.

As patriotic as I am, and as much as I believe that we must uphold the American ideals of democracy, freedom, reason and respect for our Constitution, it has never been clearer to me that our nation has violated its most foundational principles. While my life–from my lifelong dream to be an astrophysicist (which survives on federal funding), to the very medications (SSRIs) that keep my anxiety from crippling my physical health–are under unprecedented attack by our new federal government, I am lucky compared to the people of Ukraine and Gaza, to those who are transgender and/or LGBTQ+, to those who seek to uphold our democracy through journalism, and to all those who seek to do good for our world. While all of us were aware of the pernicious path that a second Trump presidency would lead us on, even I could not have predicted the tumult that would follow.

I have substantive disagreements with many of you, and I agree that many of you would see the developments of this last month as substantially good in the short run. But I plead with you all to consider the long-term implications of our decisions. While your vote may shatter my lifelong career dream and threaten my health, I am lucky to still be in a privileged position. But so many of our siblings are not and will not be. Have empathy for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people who could be forcibly removed under our president; have empathy for the transgender and LGBTQ people who feel their very sovereignty, bodily and beyond, to be under threat; have empathy for the Ukrainian people, who, after years of fighting a ruthless dictator, now have found their primary source of military aid slipping away from them at the urgings of another ruthless dictator; have empathy for the 300,000 federal workers (and counting), including many of my friends in research, NOAA and the National Parks System, who have lost their dream jobs as Trump tries to fulfill a promise (to cut the deficit) that he will never keep; and, most of all, have empathy for the founders of our country, who, despite their most concerted effort to ensure that our country never devolves to one of a king, are watching as their prized creation cripples in their hands.

For all of you, whether my plea brings you great motivation or great anger, this is no time to stand idly by, to pretend that we can "avoid the news." This is no time for cooling off, for standing by, for trying to escape the incoming tide. We must find it in our hearts to stay informed, to resist at every encounter, and to build bridges with those of us who have despised all that our nation once stood for.

I will, for as long as I am granted a beating heart on this Earth, believe that everyone has the goodness in their heart and the humility in their mind to realize the dangerous path they have been complicit in leading our country down. And for this, I invite all of you–regardless of your political affiliation–to join hands with me. No matter our differences, we share the same sky, the same Earth, the same faces and the same capacity for love. Never has it been more important to realize the disaster that our decisions have caused for ourselves and our world, and yet never has it been more important for us to join together, mend our differences and ensure that, when we escape these four years, we never make this mistake again.