From now until at least the midterm elections in November, we’ll be featuring essays from powerful cultural voices alongside one simple thing, chosen by the author, that you can do to take action against the paralyzing apoplexy of the daily news. Maybe it’ll be an organization that deserves your donation; maybe it’ll be an issue that deserves greater awareness. Whatever it is, our aim is to remind you, and ourselves, of the big and small things we can do to work toward justice and change.
This Humiliating Person
by Catherine Lacey
I signed the petition to impeach the president because it is not too late to right the wrongs that put this humiliating person in our highest office.
This person whose name I shall not type intentionally used racial coding to ignite the support of the human monsters known as white supremacists. This person whose name I shall not type used a constant barrage of lies to take advantage of Americans who could not or simply did not dispel those mistruths. Through a careful manipulation of the way Americans share information online, these lies metastasized and duped some of our most vulnerable citizens. Through the injustice of felony disenfranchisement and refusing holders of green cards the right to vote, a large percentage of our country is being denied a voice in the democracy to which it pays taxes.
For these and other reasons, our election process was corrupted in 2016 in ways that would have been unimaginable even a few years ago. It is not too late for the urgently needed, unprecedented response.
Take action today:
Join over 5.5 million Americans who have signed a petition to impeach Trump.
Catherine Lacey is the author of three books including, most recently, Certain American States.