As the inauguration of he who shall not be named approaches and we organize our strategies of resistance, I’m worried about divisiveness. It is everywhere I look. In and outside of our political parties, in and outside of our identity politics, in and outside of our communities. And while all this conversation is fucking amazing to have and we should keep having more, we also need to remember to start talking about how we can thread our movements and passions together. How can we simultaneously fight against our own oppressions and support one another in their battles? How can we support this planet and dismantle systemic racism? How can we stand up for economic justice and the LGBTQ community? How can we save our public lands and support Black Lives Matter?

I think that there is this idea that caring about one thing means that you don’t care or have time to care about another. Like there is this hierarchy of justice. Like we (and I do include myself) are fighting over which cause matters more. 

Here’s the thing: they all fucking matter. Yes, social justice doesn’t mean shit if we don’t have a viable and healthy planet to live on, but what good is humanity with a healthy planet, if we don’t dismantle oppression? And how can we have a healthy planet in an economic system that depends, in many ways, on its destruction? These things are not exclusive from. one another. 

And above it all, is a fucked up ideological/economic/political system that continues to feed off of our collective oppression and keep us fighting one another for scraps. 

We need to stop drawing lines and build more bridges. And I am absolutely including myself as well. I keep walking around and around this question, realizing that I am making a mistake trying to come up with answers on my own. We need to start talking together about how we can create an inclusive, powerful movement that does work for social, economic, environmental, and political justice simultaneously. I absolutely believe it is possible, but it will require a myriad of voices and some extreme listening skills. 

I know we are all frustrated and scared. I know I want to fight anything and everything sometimes because the terror and rage is fucking real. And yet, as always, it is love that the world needs most right now. Is that not the common thread between all of our movements? How can we elevate the love that unites us all?

Blessed be.