For your consideration..

November 12, 2016

Dear President Obama, Electors and People of the United States of America,

When I was a little girl, a judge under the Clinton Administration granted my family and I political asylum in the United States of America. We fled Croatia, former Yugoslavia, in an effort to escape war. Some people we know came to the US by way of a refugee program. Some, like myself, were originally illegal, overstaying tourist visas. Pending deportation to a country torn apart by war, the Clinton Administration offered us a home in this beautiful country where we were treated with respect and dignity. In September of 2012, after I had graduated grade school, high school and college, I happily became a citizen of the United States of America. I voted for President Barack Obama with great pride. I was so happy.

Like everyone else, I had the privilege of watching several elections in the United States of America. I watched educated, poised, respectful individuals run for political office. It was always perfectly acceptable if a Republican or Democrat won an election. While there were always differences in agenda, it didn't matter who won in the grand scheme of things, we always knew that the candidate had our best interests at heart. We didn’t fear for our safety as we do now. We didn’t fear our rights to marry, to obtain abortions or birth control. We didn’t fear our rights to free speech, our access to affordable education. We were concerned, as we should be, but we were not afraid. We didn’t go to bed wondering if Russia or ISIS would bomb us in our sleep. We generally felt safe in the hands of our President. We conceded when the time came, offered congratulations. The differences between the candidates mattered but whether or not they cared for the American people never came into question. The candidates would debate things like foreign-policy, domestic policy, Social Security, women's rights, to name a few. This election is not like anything we’ve ever seen. Instead of a respectful election, a candidate defended her email habits while the other candidate degraded women, claimed that gay rights are not human rights, attacked people with disabilities, attacked our current President, threatened lawsuits, deportation, boasted about assaulting women, denied the reality of climate change and encouraged violence and racism amongst his supporters.

The American people spoke and the majority of Americans who voted, voted for Hillary Clinton. We voted for her because we believe she has what it takes to keep us safe. We believe she will fight for working families, for people with special needs, for students, for single mothers and single fathers. We believe she has the very best intentions for the American people. During the election she kept calm and treated this election with the respect and dignity the founding fathers would be proud of. When Donald Trump went low, she went high (First Lady Michelle Obama). When she was accused many times over regarding her email habits, she respectfully responded to accusations, she answered the American people. She didn’t run. She didn’t cry. She didn’t threaten to sue anyone or put anyone in jail. While Trump proved to be an incredibly racist and sexist creature, she still treated his campaign with respect. She didn’t need to. He didn’t deserve it. Instead of having the opportunity to run against an educated, respectful opponent, she ran against the most disrespectful, misogynistic man in the entire country. And she did it with class while Trump got his Twitter account taken away from him. The American people voted for Hillary Clinton for President of the United States, by majority. 

I don’t have the confidence of some to say that the Electoral College needs to be abolished. We have seen what a cult following can do to a country. If a cult following results in a majority vote, we’d be begging for the reinstatement of the Electoral College. The Constitution gives Electors the power to make the decision they feel is best. The electoral college has a duty to the American people to uphold the Constitution. The Electoral College was created to ensure that the American People are protected. I believe the Electoral College has a fundamental duty to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. I believe the Electors know this. I have the outmost faith in them.  I don’t see them as divided Democrats and Republicans, I see them as individuals with families, and friends who love them and appreciate them. I know they’ve heard Trump speak. I know they have seen the ugly that has been inspired amongst the American People. I know that they are aware of the differences between good and evil. I believe they are conscious of the terrifying magnitude of a Trump Presidency. I know their friends and family are also counting on them to do the right thing. I know they are good people. I know they aren’t afraid to cross party lines for the well being of this country. I believe they will make the right decision to keep Trump out of the White House. Because they know the kind of message they are sending to the citizens of this country if they don’t.

The message that would deliver to people of this beautiful country is that you can say whatever you want and still become President. That you don’t need to be respectful. That you don’t need to value education. That you don’t need to respect the employees of your company. That you don’t need to pay taxes. The message that it would send to women is that rape is okay, assault is okay, and you could still become President. Earlier this year we had Brock Turner take the stage as a rapist who didn’t receive proper punishment. Now, we also have Trump. The message it would send to children, teenagers, young adults is that men may treat women however they like, as bad as they like and they won’t go to jail and they can still become President. That they can threaten women to fear speaking up. The message it would send is that we do not punish sexual assault, we do not punish racism, we do not punish bigotry, we do not punish death threats. The message it would send is that all of these things are perfectly fine and you could still be President of the United States of America.

We already see the aftershock of this election in schools and communities across the country. In Royal Oak, kids screamed “BUILD A WALL” at a Hispanic student. The KKK is planning a victory march for Trump. Women have had their hijab ripped off their heads. Swastikas have been drawn on people’s cars, on public walls. A gay man was beaten. Facebook is filled with posts of hate. People are being antagonized on public transit. Civil unrest has begun and this is only the beginning. Protests will become more and more intense, exhibitions of hate will become more and more prominent. 

This is not the America that I know. We are heartbroken. We are furious. We are protesting. We are talking. We are educating. We are trying. We are really trying to believe that the good in this country is still here. We are trying so hard to protect and honor President Obama’s legacy. It would be the greatest insult to President Obama, his family and the American people to allow for a Donald Trump Presidency. Donald Trump is a threat to national and foreign security. He doesn’t possess any political experience, any record of public service or temperament awarding him proper judgement to handle being the keeper of nuclear codes. His blatant racism is a threat to multi-racial citizens of the United States of America. When a potential President inspires the rebirth of the KKK, you know we have a serious problem. When a potential President has Vladimir Putin on his side, you know we have a serious problem. I never feared that he would even come close to accomplishing things like a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. I never felt he could actually build a wall. I don’t think that Trump as President  would accomplish anything he promised during his campaign. What does concern me, aside from the message we deliver by allowing him into the White House, is his inability to respect people of different cultures, his racism and his attacks on people all over the world. This proves to be a threat for national security. If the American people feel a foreign threat on account of Trump, the economy will suffer greatly. 

We the people are counting on the Electoral College to do their part to preserve our rights, our dignity and our democracy. 

Respectfully,

Julijana M. Tkalec

Casual Encounter

People, as they explode through your life; most, some, many, meaningless interactions and conversations where you only pay attention to words such as good, bad, and, or, although, but, just to make sure you understand if the words exiting their mouth are either positive or negative, so you can smile and nod, or frown appropriately; then, there are some, the few, where the moment the first sound exits their mouth you are hooked; you are warped into a timeless world in which gravity does not exist, your only goal is to make certain that they keep speaking; words, flowing out of their body like a perfectly crafted song; words, you may not know many of them, you can only piece together bits of their story, but its enough to fall in love with those words, the voices, the mouth, the eyes; eyes, the windows you would hide from, glance left, right, up, blink for more than a second, twirl your eyes as if looking for bouncing balls lost in the distance, glance again, avoid eye contact again; then there are Eyes, the ones you cannot break away from, scotch tape, duct tape, glue, crazy, crazy fucking glue; then, their words, their eyes, and suddenly their sentences all brought in perfect harmony make the most sense you’ve ever thought could exist; speak slowly, slowly, don’t stop, let the A in that word linger and vibrate just a little bit longer; you’re telling me a story I know, one I know entirely too well, but your words are different and my experience is different, but it’s the same story; I am not bored, though not even interested in your version of the story, I am interested in your words; one would say I have been seduced by a sentence; you see my eyes, but don’t look too far, they aren’t trying to say anything, this look doesn’t mean something, in fact, in means nothing, you are good for my soul, you’re good for me right now, the melody of your voice, your words, as they linger in my ear drums, don’t stop talking, don’t wonder, this look means nothing, my brain is intoxicated, I’m not; these eyes are not trying to say something, they are just hypnotized; you’ve consumed all of my senses; but don’t be alarmed, in a few minutes you will stop talking, and I will disappear.

Are you listening?

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Often times I find myself thinking that I wish I were smarter, wiser, whatever. But I am who I am and for this I am grateful. I know the difference between right and wrong, I know how to not hurt people, I know how to not be selfish, I know how to make people smile, I know how to not take things for granted, and I know what I need and what I don’t need in my life. I’m often brutal and too honest for my own good, I am cynical, I can be judgmental when someone’s beliefs are shoved down my throat, I am my mother’s daughter. I can be your worst enemy or your best friend. And if I’m your enemy I will seldom find the bones in my body to actively hate you. I will give away the stuff I don’t need and I won’t judge you for what you think you need so long as you don’t try to convince me that your pointless, selfish, materialistic needs are justified, because they are not. There is little that we need in life aside from food, water, shelter, and love. I know that, do you? And if you don’t that is okay, I will not try to shove my way of life down your throat to force you to live it, but I will tell you my thoughts if you are willing to read it.

We all reserve the right to be reborn and change who we are; we often do it for the better. But how often do we see people in our lives wrapping their arms around change for the worst? I am very grateful for my rebirth and for the reality that my priorities are finally in line with my heart. But in a world of such heated consumption and greed, it is often difficult to not pass judgment. I have many friends of vast breeds and love them all for different reasons and for their own individual outlooks on life. Inevitably they all inspire me somehow, no matter how different they all are. But I will admit that I only have a few friends that have such a passion driven determination to help the world and change it for the better. I, for one, am convinced that if you put me in a room, alone, for twenty minutes with two leaders of two countries that are about to go to war over oil or diamonds, for example, that I can convince them to stop. That may be arrogance talking, but I think we often take for granted how much power our own passions and convictions can have on any situation. Many people sit around hoping for change but don’t do so much as lift a finger to help a people in need.

I’m not saying that everyone has to aspire to be Gandhi or Mother Teresa, but if we all for a few minutes in our busy lives take a moment to think about the people who are far less fortunate than we are, though I believe western civilization put them in such situations, we may find a way to appreciate the state of our own lives, no matter how much we feel we are suffering on any given day. It doesn’t bother me that most people usually don’t really lift a hand to help those in need, inevitably they somehow in a very twisted way of consumption make the world go round, though consumption of goods is a whole other devil that needs discussing. However, I think at least by way of inspiring people and spreading joy, we often take too much for granted. Many people in this world don’t have friends who try to make them laugh every day. At least be grateful for that?

I wake up every morning terribly groggy and angry that I cannot sleep in. I roll out of bed, pee, wash my hands in ice cold water and make my way to the kitchen and brew my coffee ground out of beans that a child somewhere probably picked. I then shower with the wonderful clean filtered water that I am so fortunate of having the option for a hot shower or cold shower. I pour my coffee in a coffee mug made somewhere in China probably by young adults who are not as fortunate to drink out of such beauty. I then dress, put on the clothes that a child somewhere probably made and probably earned less than a meal worth of salary for the entire day they spent sewing the clothes I am putting on. I drink my coffee and reflect on all the stuff I am fortunate enough to have and suddenly wish I didn’t have. I gratefully make my lunch, fill my to-go cup with coffee and head for the door. Down the stairs I ponder not having any of things or good fortune that I have. By the time I make it out to the street I am more than willing to give it all up to help make this world a better place. Every day I move forward with this ambition more and more. Yet, I am still in the same place I was yesterday. It will take a while to get to the big picture, I grant you. But when was the last time you smiled at one of the hundreds of now homeless former yuppies that are growing in numbers ever so quickly in our streets? Yes, one day, not too long ago, that kid just off the Armitage exit ramp of the expressway, he had a job, a Mac, an iPhone, and a Facebook account. Now he is at least grateful he has a pair of shoes. Call it survival of the fittest, call it what you will. But if people of our generation, in our neighborhoods are going hungry, is that not enough of a wake up call for the need for radical action?

We live in a world controlled by our thirst for our world’s natural resources and stuff we don’t need that we don’t give a rats ass whose toes we have to step on to get what we want. Finally, in some twisted way, we have been fortunate enough to have a disaster hit so close to home by way of a massive oil spill and it is astonishing to me that people are still not listening to what the Earth is trying to tell us. She is telling us that we are killing her. This is her attempted suicide because she is giving up on us and we are so fortunate that she is giving us a chance to convince her to hang on just a little bit longer and we are still not listening.