This Little Girl

My little girl. She smiles constantly. Every day spent with her is full of giggles, wide-eyed wonder, and endless squishy baby hugs. She’s an especially easy baby, content to just sit and admire the small miracles of the world, overjoyed to just be present and loved. And in this moment, my heart is breaking for her. Because I don’t know how to raiser her in Donald Trump’s America. How can I look into her perfect little face and tell her that the greatest country in the world, a place that affords us so many privileges and freedoms, has just elected a Commander-in-Chief who demonstrates his hatred with cruel remarks about women’s appearances and intellectual ability? With his statements regarding a woman’s worth in the workplace or how a woman should be punished for exercising her right to choose. With his belief that he can treat a woman’s body any way he wants to, regardless of consent. With his lengthy history of rape and sexual assault allegations. The President of the United States is a man who discriminates against African Americans, Mexicans, and Muslims. He makes fun of those with disabilities. He is a man who is reactionary, retaliatory, petty, and cruel. And on November 8, 2016 it was irrefutably proven that this terrifying man is not an anomaly. That there are millions of Americans who love him, support him, and share his opinions. I don’t know how to explain why a man like Donald Trump even exists, let alone that millions of Americans have chosen to support him. No matter how unremittingly I endeavor to support her sense of confidence, self-respect, kindness, selflessness, honesty, integrity, and altruism, my daughter is growing up amidst a country that will attack these values with equal fervor. No matter what, I’ll raise my daughter to value herself. I’ll make certain she knows that she is worthy of love and respect. I will teach her to protect her body and her heart. I will support her in taking up room, speaking her truth, and standing her ground. But now, now I’ll be raising her under the oppression of a man who openly and unapologetically models the exact opposite for her. I’m committed to always telling my daughter the truth, even when it’s difficult. She deserves the truth and sheltering her will only serve to preserve her privilege instead of empowering her to be an ally and a helper. So the truth, my precious baby girl, is that living in Donald Trump’s America means that the most powerful man the world is not here for you and the most powerful country in the world is full of people who are not here for you either. But I am. I am always here for you and together, we’ll be here for all of the other communities, genders, religions, and races that the rest of America abandoned today. And I am so sorry, little one. You deserve better than this. We all do.