First of all, I am NOT a baby boomer. I was born in late 1968 and consider myself a proud first generation gen Xer. Please keep in mind that as I write this letter and point a finger I have 3 more pointing back at myself (4 if you count my thumb which is questionable).
While reflecting on the state of this country and what has happened before, during, and after this current election, I came to some realizations. Let me back up a bit first and tell you a little more about myself.
I was born to a middle class American family in New England in November of 1968. My father is a mix of Russian & German Jew and Swedish ancestry and my mother a mix of Italian and Irish ancestry. I guess you could say I'm an American mutt with 4-5 different nationalities in my blood. I grew up during an interesting time in America where education was prized over and America really wanted to give their kids the absolute best education available. Children of the 70's were "free to be you and me". Being that I was from New England my family never used the "n" word or raised me to believe people from other lands were lesser than myself. In 1987 at the age of 18 I moved to Georgia which was a bit of a culture shock. Conyers, GA was a much different place than where I came from in rural New England in the late 80's. However, I met a lot of amazing people and retain friendships with many of them decades later. I always knew I was different than my friends up north but I didn't realize until I hit the age of 19 and had a chance to be out in the world that I was a lesbian. This realization was tough at first since I was raised Catholic but eventually I came to terms with the fact that God loves me for who I am because he made me that way. The age of 19 is also when I realized that my lifestyle puts me in real danger. Some people might say "well that's the lifestyle you chose". If you've known me since I was a little kid you would know that I've always been a "tomboy". As a matter of fact, one of my childhood friends fathers forbid me to play with his daughter for fear I would make her a "tomboy". There were times in the early 90's while attending gay pride festivals that I would truly fear for my life as bomb dogs and bomb threats were common. Consequently, I can honestly say that I fought for my rights as a lesbian woman around 3 times in my 20's. Mostly it was with Queer Nation out in front of random Cracker Barrels to protest their treatment of gay employees. That was the extent of my activism from ages 19 thru 48.
I know I'm opening up a can of worms by calling out my peers. Of course there are exceptions to every rule and there are many activists who are my age and who have done a lot to further civil rights and other causes. I'm speaking to the vast majority of my generation MYSELF INCLUDED who rode on the backs of the people who came before us so that we could possibly live in a safe environment. Because of these peoples sacrifice, my generation thought everything was "cool". My mentality was lets party. I don't have time to join a group to protest human rights violations, environmental issues, injustices and many other issues my generation was and is faced with then and now. Was it because of laziness, or being comfortable, or something else that made many of us think it wasn't worth the trouble and time out of our lives? Let's flash forward to today November 11th, 2016, Veterans day. I see turmoil in our country. I woke up today scanning the internet pages to see what violence had occurred overnight. It was during those moments of fear wondering if I should run away and worrying about my wife that I had an epiphany. Now is the time for ALL of us to stand up for what is right. To protect the ones with no protection. Fill in the blank (LGBTQ, African Americans, The environment, Women's rights, immigrants, working poor and middle class, and any other marginalized group I've missed).
We are called to be the light of the world. I believe that God, The universe, or your Higher Power intended this for us. What this means for me is that I am called to act. To support my brothers and sisters and I hope in turn they will support me. Therefore, I decided to join an all inclusive human rights group. I do this because it's not just about being LGBTQ and feeling safe but its about all of us feeling safe and "free to be you and me" in OUR country. If this article resonates with you, I encourage you to seek out an organization which you would like to support and that you feel will take you to a higher level. I believe that higher level is where we were intended to thrive. Lets all come together now to support each other and truly make America great again.
