Louisa Simmonds

Wisely, I try to leave politics to people who actually know what they’re talking about – mainly because I wither like a flower in sunlight in confrontation – but as my blog is a personal blog and I hold the power, I can’t NOT comment on what is happening in the world right now; I can’t ignore the persecution of race and minority groups in a westernised country on our doorstep right now. 

When I work with my clients, I ask them to prioritise what they want in their new home. We all prioritise in our lives in our search for happiness, and so when Trump won the US election, although I am a staunch feminist, I understood that many women voted for him because they too had to rank the changes they needed, and employment and being able to put food on the family table took precedence. I also understand that the US has a massive illegal immigration problem, support of which has a huge impact on the average American’s livelihood.

However, I’m equally certain that many of those Trump voters, when they look at the action the man has taken in his first few weeks against Muslims and Mexicans (and basically anyone who does not fit into what is increasingly looking like supremacist idealism), must be appalled.

I was naïve enough to think that like our own lacklustre Prime Minister, (for whom I voted), Trump wouldn’t have the power to put whatever crazy piece of ridiculousness that popped into his head in his golden tower into action by himself. (Because the man IS crazy). Yet, within a few short weeks, he has antagonised leaders of countries with whom we have fought long and hard to reach agreements to protect human life and basic human rights, and what before was a whiff of the mass persecution of thirties and forties Europe that led to a genocide we swore would never happen again, is turning into a very bad smell.

We were making progress towards greater humanitarianism, fairness and the development of a global conscience around inequality. Those sat in our Ivory Towers felt less arrogance about our success and birthright and more empathetic towards those that don’t have them. We were horrified by the Holocaust and Bosnia and Rwanda and learned from them.

Or did we?

Because what is occurring in the US, (and don’t think that the contamination won’t reach our own shores), is that shocking that even Kim Kardashian, (my icon as you know), got off her treadmill, put down her green salad and tweeted this:

That’s right: toddlers kill more people than terrorists.

Fundamentally, what it boils down to is that the President of the US gets to bandy about like some fictional hero in an action movie, destroying the lives of many of his citizens – those same citizens who worked and fought to make his country the frightening superpower that it is now – spreading lies and indoctrinating our impressionable young with an idealism that goes against the grain of all the moral principles that we have tried to instil in our own children, and we have to accept that.

I don’t think so.

Because you’re not too old to make a statement and political astuteness is not required; all you need is a conscience, a sense of what is right and wrong and a generous dose of empathy for those less fortunate.

If the mayors of New York City and Chicago, celebrities and prominent writers such as Elizabeth Gilbert can stand up to this power-hungry, arrogant slime ball, so can we. No matter how small a cog you think you are, or how meaningless your small act of solidarity feels, you are fortunate to live in a democracy with freedom of speech. At the moment.

So, in the words of the great “Wolfie” Smith from Citizen Smith,‘Power to the people!’

#democracy #equalrights #racism #Trump