Earth Day, April 22

I participated in the March for Science.

When you travel outside of your home country, it is easy to not pay attention to what is happening back home. It is easy to ignore headlines and to tell yourself all will be fine when you return.

I honestly don’t think I can say this. It seems that every other story I hear is about something going wrong in the US or something that will go wrong. There is no reprieve from the stress accompanied with the prevalence of backward political deals and shady future goals and plans. Hearing that the president doesn’t believe in climate change when there are glaciers melting captured on film is nonsensical. Hearing that the healthcare system is changing for the worse and that funding for science research might be cut is terrifying. Hearing that the separation between church and state is being dissolved is heresy.

Knowing that I might not be let back into my birth country due to my religion, that I won’t be accepted back into my society due to my race, that I could be discriminated against due to my gender, and looked down upon due to my opinion is not what I envisioned for the future of our country. I don’t want to live in a country that makes my existence in this world a hassle. That’s neither moral nor ethical. The phrasing of this generation is “make peace not war” so why all the hate and contention?

It is a risk to even step out the door in the mornings. If I can’t feel safe in my own home, is there even a point to keep on living there? I feel helpless to do anything. It frustrates me that I am unable to do anything more than besides marching and signing petitions. I have neither the time nor the money to accomplish anything and it saddens me that so many good things in this world (world health plans/domestic health plans/scientific research/after-school programs/etc.) are suffering because of one person and his encouragement and action against the good.

I hope that we can overcome these hurdles with finesse and aplomb rather than crashing and burning. I don’t want to come home to rambles of what it once was. We need progress, not regression. We record history to learn from our pasts and to ensure that the mistakes of the past do not occur again. Take note America, the current path you are on is nothing but hardship and failure. I’m afraid for our future. We need a miracle.