[pullquote align=right] So this is what I said to her.
[/pullquote]This morning Suzie looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “What are we going to do?”
“Go to work,” I responded.
“Yes, but–”
“I know what you mean,” I said, “but for right now I have to make breakfast and go to work.”
I looked at Suzie, and I saw the tears welling up in her eyes. I couldn’t leave her like this. But I couldn’t take the day off work either.
So this is what I said to her:
I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I know how we’re going to do it.
[pullquote align=right] We’re going to be strong.
[/pullquote]We’re going to be strong. Our great grandparents didn’t find the chutzpah to flee Europe and establish themselves in a new country that was hostile to immigrants by dissolving into a puddle of tears. They were strong, and they stuck together.
We’re going to be vigilant. We’re going to watch for threats to our safety, and we’re going to look for opportunities in the middle of crises. We’re going to research options in case we need to leave this country. Our marriage might be made illegal, and it might become impossible for us to adopt children. There are a lot of very real risks for us because of the outcome of this election.
But queer people and Jewish people are not the only ones in danger. We’ve got to look out for our Muslim friends and neighbors, for immigrants, for people of color, for people with disabilities, for all of us. When we worry about economic downturn, we’ve got to look out for people who don’t have money to pay rent.
[pullquote align=left] We’re going to be vigilant.
[/pullquote]We’re going to get through this by being generous and kind to each other. We’re going to look out for each other’s safety. When they go low, we’re going to say “hey buddy, don’t mess with my cousin in the hijab over there. She’s with me.”
We are going to protect ourselves by protecting each other. We’re going to create new petitions, new organizations, and new funds. We’re going to have meetings and we’re going to have rallies. We’re going to host groups of people in our living rooms to discuss how to help each other, and we’re going to host refugees when they seek asylum.
[pullquote align=right] We are going to protect ourselves by protecting each other.
[/pullquote]I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do, but I know how we’re going to do it. We’re going to be strong, and we’re going to be together.
May we all feel that strength and togetherness today as we recover.