Be Outraged and Resist

Trump has been in office for a week and the country is on fire. It started with limiting a woman's right to choose and an effort to start dismantling universal healthcare (see the reinstatement of the global gag rule), setting back climate change efforts and clamping down on science as a whole (see Keystone XL & Dakota Access pipelines and Federal science actions), and attacking immigrants on multiple fronts with a particular emphasis on Muslims (see the border wall and Muslim ban). I have been slow to accept our new reality. I tried to be cautiously optimistic the days before his inauguration, then I tried to avoid the news as my greatest fears were being realized, then I was just sad. Now I am really pissed off and ready to work. Trump and his hateful policies must go. So here is what I am doing and I encourage you to do to. And this isn't where I am stopping, if you have any suggestions of other actions we can take please leave them in the comments below so everyone who sees this post can take part too.

Let's be outraged. Let's resist. Let's take our country back.

Make Your Voice Heard

Call your representatives, write letters, sign petitions, demonstrate in the streets if you have to! Our representatives are supposed to represent us and so it is our responsibility to make our positions known and continuously apply pressure on them. Use Common Cause's representative locator to find out who your reps are. And if you need a little extra help on what to say, check out this article for some tips about how to talk to your representative when you do call.

Organize

When President Obama told us in his farewell speech to organize I had no idea where to start. Luckily I have some incredible friends who did. We have begun by sharing good information and finding ways to do the above (reach out to our representatives). One friend has offered up her apartment on a weekly basis as a hub to create call scripts, make calls, write letters and keep information sharing. There is also an incredible guide and directory of how and where to get involved called the Indivisible Guide. Start with this and you'll be good.

Share Good Information

This requires staying informed and not propagating "alternative facts." Misinformation/fake news is a dangerous thing as we have already seen with this administration. We need to armor ourselves with the truth and be cynical with the media we consume. Also, good information is power. Articles like  what to do if ICE agents come to your door should be widely shared so that everyone has the knowledge they need. 

Donate

A little can go a very long way if we all chip in. I am personally giving to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood and Justice Democrats(at minimum). I will be cutting out my work lunches, extra coffees, and any other frivolous spending to give all that I can. This is an investment in a country I want to live in and society we can be proud of after all!

Stay Positive

If we stop believing in the power of the people and democracy there is not way we can win. So please take care of yourself and those directly in front of you first. Practice self care and go at your own pace. Do what you need to in order to feel like you (and not a hopeless shell of you), feel strong, and remain hopeful. We could be in for the long haul and everyone of us needs to be able to take some time for ourselves.

"if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."

-desmond tutu

That is all I have, again please add ideas to this list. I want to know what actions you are taking and how you are taking care of yourself. Now is the time more than ever to spread love, count our blessings and support one another to ensure this time does not become our new normal! 

XO

Space Program Europa at the YBCA

I haven't been up for writing over the past week or so. I have some serious new administration blues that seem to worsen with each press release. So until I get my attitude together and figure out a way to contribute positively I will post about other's beautiful contributions to society! Today I want to share with you a few photos from the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco.

Sharing this feels particularly relevant for me considering all of the political actions against the federal science agencies and anyone federally funded in the sciences (especially working on climate change and sustainability). As a climate scientist who relied on federal dollars for all of the research I have ever been involved in I feel the hurt. I hurt because this work, work seeking to help humanity and the most vulnerable communities do not receive significant funding from other sources, certainly not from private one. So this post is dedicated to the determined scientists out there, inspiring hope, art, and a better society for all on a daily basis. We shall resist, we shall overcome.

Landing Excursion Module (LEM), a 1:1 model of the Apollo lunar module

While at the YBCA I examined in depth Tom Sachs' third Space Program, Europa which ran through the 15th of this month. In the introduction to this work Sachs writes, 

In our age of disaffection, the sculptures in this exhibition are also objects of love that support the rituals of studio practice, all things analog, and the handmade. Their meaning is born out of action in time - the original act of their making, and later their use, charges them with purpose beyond art for its own sake.

That's it for my little glimpse into this intricate exhibition and truly hope you get to see some of Sachs "postindustrial mashup of high and low culture" (as he has said) in the future! Save a few hours to if you do, it is very thought provoking and such a spectacle to see.

4 Ways Travel Makes You A Better Citizen

Today is my 1 year blog anniversary! I originally began to write a celebratory post about the things I have learned over the past year but that will have to be saved for another day because today I need to discuss something permeating every aspect of my life, including what I write about here.

Yesterday was the 2016 US presidential election and today we got the results.. It has been a precarious couple of years politically but I remained hopeful that we as a country would unite again and make history electing our first female president, as we did in 2008 electing our first black president. But as the whole world knows, that is not what happened. Instead, half of the country decided to go for the isolationist, far more controversial and less qualified candidate. I truly feared this because Donald Trump has repeatedly proven that he is a misogynist, xenophobic, close-minded person with (to put it very generously) a history racist tendencies. As I write this I am holding back a lot of strong words about him right now out of my respect for the office of the President and hope that he will change for the better.

To speak openly, I feel personally hurt right now. Hurt as a woman, as a racial minority, as a religious minority, as someone from an economically disenfranchised class, as a supporter of the LGBT equal rights movement, as a citizen of the country who claims it stands for the equality of all. Hurt that the most qualified woman and devoted civil servant to this country did not win this election. And hurt that our country is so divided and entrenched in a white supremacist and anti-feminist culture that we chose Trump specifically. I woke up this morning unprepared to face the fact that hate won. But despite all of that I am forcing myself to redetermine. Hate won't win. I redetermine to spread love and tolerance. Redetermine to focus on similarities and not differences. Redetermine to come together for the greater good of all society. And redetermine to never give up in the face of defeat.

A friend wrote a very poignant article on how this election impacts the way you travel prior to the election and now on the other side of this election I reflect on some of our vulnerabilities. I am asking myself how we can create a culture in this country to protect against these threats in the future. US citizens, as holders of arguably the most powerful passports and greatest political and economic influencers in the world, I feel have a responsibility to understand (if not see) more of the world. Yes domestic issues are important, but I think a short-sightedness on only our own personal challenges is what allowed so many to become so cynical. So I want to end this post with something a little less complain-y and a bit more motivating...

four reasons travel makes you a better citizen:

1. You meet different people and can appreciate diversity and become more tolerant of others
2. You can appreciate your own country and culture more by seeing others
3. You can understand your country’s place in the world and understand foreign policy & security issues better
4. You get a peak at how other countries handle domestic issues and can help solve your own

I write this post not to offend or divide. It is one opinion of millions and I truly believe each person’s opinion and experience is valid. My hope is to just work together toward a loving society that works for all and not just a few.

I would love to hear how others are feeling about this election, in the US and abroad. I want this to be a safe space where we can share, so please keep that in mind if you choose to comment.