Assembling My Peace

I used to think politics was frustrating, but at least functional. Elections were about policies you liked or didn’t like—not a desperate attempt to keep democracy from collapsing. Government, for all its flaws, still operated under the idea that it served the whole country, not just the people willing to pledge undying loyalty. That version of America is gone. Gone gone.

Power isn’t about governing anymore—it’s about control. Trump’s GOP isn’t focused on policy; it’s focused on punishing enemies and rewarding loyalty. And Democrats? What the hell are they even doing? Republicans are gutting Social Security and Medicaid, shutting down Indigenous agencies, and slashing public school funding while funneling taxpayer money into religious schools. They’re making it harder to vote while expanding their power to overturn elections, weakening environmental protections so corporations can pollute freely, and stripping workers of their rights. They’re passing extreme abortion bans in the states while stacking courts and writing laws to make a nationwide ban inevitable. They are banning books, criminalizing teachers, and working state by state to make sure the next generation knows less, questions less, and fights back less. And Democrats? They’re still issuing careful statements, celebrating policy wins no one has heard of, and pretending bipartisanship is still a thing. They talk about democracy like it’s some abstract concept instead of something being dismantled in real time. DO SOMETHING. Stop acting like compromise will save us. Get loud. Get aggressive. Meet this moment with the damn urgency it demands.

And while we’re at it, white women? Get your shit together. Because in addition to Democrats doing too little, too late, white women keep handing their votes to the very people stripping away their rights. And before anyone gets defensive—blah blah, I know. Not all white women. I know because I am one of the ones who does better. But the numbers don’t lie, and the patterns don’t break themselves.

White women have upheld white male power for generations. They fought to keep schools and neighborhoods white while insisting they “love” their Black and brown friends. They railed loudly against abortion while sometimes quietly getting their own. They championed “law and order” while turning a blind eye to police violence, clutching their purses instead of their consciences. And now, they’re doing it again—helping a man who disrespects them, legislates against them, and sees them as props.

This isn’t just politics. It’s an authoritarian movement. The GOP isn’t trying to win voters. They’re rigging the system. Trump showed them how—turning COVID aid into a loyalty test, withholding disaster relief from blue states, pardoning criminals for their allegiance, gutting social programs while handing billionaires tax cuts. It’s rule by vengeance, wrapped in a Chinese made American flag.

Meanwhile, Democrats are losing the messaging war so badly it’s embarrassing. While Republicans convince struggling Americans that drag queens and immigrants are why they can’t afford rent, Democrats keep acting like their policies will just sell themselves. Wages are stagnant. The cost of living is suffocating. People are dying because they can’t afford insulin. Republicans are openly plotting to gut Social Security. And yet, somehow, Democrats still can’t seem to focus on the one thing that matters: making people’s lives better and making sure they know exactly who’s keeping them down.

No politician is perfect. No party will ever align with everything you believe. But disengagement is surrender, and that is exactly what they want. They want you exhausted. They want you to roll your eyes and check out. They want you to believe “both sides are bad” so you won’t fight back while they take even more.

So, what’s it gonna be? Because I get it—this is exhausting. It’s easy to feel powerless. It’s easy to want to look away. But we don’t have that luxury. Politics isn’t just about presidents. It’s about school boards, city councils, and state legislatures. It’s about the people we hire and who work for us deciding whether our kids get solid schools, clean water, and the right to learn real history. It’s about raising kids who understand their power and aren’t afraid to use it. It’s about believing in something better—and being willing to fight for it. Staying engaged—not just when it’s easy, not just when it’s trending, but always. Because waiting for someone else to fix this isn’t an option. And waiting for the “perfect” candidate is just handing power—again—to the very people who will burn it all down, and take us with it.