2.5
December 1, 2016

How a Blue State tells Trump to Stick It.

Twitter https://twitter.com/driverminnie/status/797945634942631936

In a few months my husband and I are moving from a Red State to a Blue State.

Well, not just any Blue State, but to California—a State in which Senate President Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon released a breathtaking Joint Statement .

Written in English and Spanish, the Joint Statment takes a clear stand against what they view as the “reversal of generations of progress” that the Trump presidency represents to them.

It was stirring to read such a public proclamation and to know that while living in California I will not be alone in my feelings and trepidations about President-Elect Trump and his governance.

“By a margin in the millions, Californians overwhelmingly rejected politics fueled by resentment, bigotry and misogyny.”

The Joint Statement is a clear expression of intention with none of the mincing of words or even name-calling that the public has been subjected to recently from some of our so-called political leaders.

Just plain, simple language of truth.

“While Donald Trump may have won the presidency, he hasn’t changed our values. America is greater than any one man or party. We will not be dragged back into the past. We will lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution.

We are not going to allow one election to reverse generations of progress at the height of our historic diversity, scientific advancement, economic output, and sense of global responsibility.”

Clearly, these two elected officials will not be cowed by bullying or threats of blocked funding. With “the largest economy in the U.S. and the sixth-largest economy in the world as well,” they will also not be blackmailed.

“[We] will maximize the time during the presidential transition to defend our accomplishments using every tool at our disposal by reaching out to federal, state and local officials to evaluate how a Trump Presidency will potentially impact federal funding of ongoing state programs, job-creating investments reliant on foreign trade, and federal enforcement of laws affecting the rights of people living in our state.”

As a child, my father had moved our family to California almost 70 years ago to seek just the kind of environment and opportunity that the Joint Statement describes:

“…a refuge of justice and opportunity for people of all walks, talks, ages and aspirations—regardless of how you look, where you live, what language you speak, or who you love.”

For the past 47 years, I have been living in a “Red State” and, while I may only be returning to California for six months, I look forward to breathing the fresh air of clarity, leadership and forward thinking that the Joint Statement embodies.

When I think of the ambient conversations in restaurants, the multicultural environment and of simply being able to look at a woman who is wearing a head scarf without feeling as afraid for her as I might elsewhere, my heart leaps.

Who needs to move to Canada? “California, here I come!”

~

Author: Carmelene Siani

Image: Minnie Driver/Twitter

Editor: Katarina Tavčar

 

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