History Obliterates

 

New York Post: President TrumpCreative Commons License Marco Verch via Compfight


I hear wailing in the streets and hear the hearts of millions that once beat, break into silence for just a moment.

One moment… The moment.

It’s the moment that decided their future, but does not define it. It cannot be defined as we can’t mark out the limits of what could happen.

By now, anything can happen.

You sir, have America in the palm of your hand. You’ve fed lies, hatred, contempt and corruption to the world that once had a chance. You’ve shared chauvinistic, misogynistic, homophobic statements to the world once with a stance.

You sir, have degraded everyone and everything that I care about.

My parents, who’ve been told don’t belong here for simply wanting the freedom they deserve.

My daughter, whose been told isn’t worthy enough for simply being a strong, independent girl.

My wife, whose been told isn’t entitled to her rights for simply wanting the freedom to love.

All of them, and the crazy thing is that they are all human.

They are all capable.

They are all loved and don’t deserve to be scared for their life in the country they are devoted to. Most importantly, they are obligated to receive respect. Your stance I fear has not been adopted with respect to anything.

Therefore, I have decided one thing.

If you can’t give respect the world, then I will give respect to you. Why? Because a world without any is a world not worth living in, and someone needs to make sure that people remember how to respect.

Don’t get me wrong. This does not mean I forgive you, and this sure as heck doesn’t mean I will support every word you say. It does, however, mean that I recognize this:

You are human.

You are capable of something.

You, Mr. President-elect, are loved by someone.

I hope one day you can fulfill the things you believe in but with kindness. Think about others before you act, think about the consequences… Think about what your decisions can do to the people who live in this world.

History obliterates. In every picture it paints, it paints you and all your mistakes.

Don’t be the villain in our history.


Lines: “I hear wailing in the streets”, “History obliterates.” and “…villain in our history” derived from Hamilton’s “The World Was Wide Enough”

Line: “In every picture it paints, it paints you and all your mistakes.” derived from Hamilton’s “The World Was Wide Enough”, although slightly altered.

 

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3 thoughts on “History Obliterates

  1. WOW Elissa!!! I truly love your voice within this piece!!! The way you chose to respond to Trump’s presidency with such a respect yet an assertion of your individual ideals is truly commendable. You have such a beautiful perspective on something so unpleasant and I completely am in awe of the elegance associated with your writing. Through using the word “sir,” you are not degrading Trump, but rather are almost acknowledging him with a certain dignity; it is as if you recognize his offences but are choosing to not let them define the entirety of who he is. You remain a witness to the better that he can ultimately choose to change into. But with this respect, you compel him to admit how he has limited human capabilities and freedoms that we as a people have fought so hard to maintain.

    I feel if he was truly reading this piece he wouldn’t disregard it, as I imagine he would do with many other aversive letters; rather you pull the reader in, you are allowing him to acknowledge the human pain his actions and words have evoked. It truly takes an individual of strength to respond to someone who is being racist, homophobic, degrading individuals solely on religion, and deteriorating the rights an individual stands for, and still perceive the individual almost in a positive regard. You are not confining yourself to an opinion of him (animosity) that you have a right to believe in, for I believe it is almost as if you have indulged in that part of yourself but have not allowed it to control you. Believing in humanity means believing in its progression, and you have almost placed these consuming feelings of anger and hatred that one is allowed to feel, and have chosen to believe in Trump’s potential. You have responded with love, but that does not entitle one to being a bystander. You understand the torment you have felt, yet still acknowledge the humanness within Trump although he has openly diminished other individuals based on their race. You have given him the opportunity he has not allowed a majority of the populace; in this piece you are stronger than him, and I feel that is will cause someone like Trump to actually listen.

    I wish I had the ability to harness such understanding and considerate feeling for Trump, but I don’t. Not yet anyways, but I hope I do. I truly believe your mindset depicts your future and you have proved that within this. Anything I would offer is that I really wished you expanded more on your ideas; your message was clear and instantly engaging, but I feel if you lengthened this piece you would really hit the nail on allowing Trump to feel empathy for a populace he has ignorantly chosen to degrade throughout his campaign. LOVED IT!!!

    Sadia

  2. Dear Elissa,

    This must be said first: your post was beautiful! I loved it!

    I feel that our positions on Trump (and the election… but mostly Trump) are very similar because of how you’ve chosen to express your point of view and because of the unusual “light” that you have found within this issue. I see this radiating from the writing itself – honestly, the style you’ve used and the format of this post work so well together. It’s breathtaking!

    Your choice of topic is very relevant too – I think that if people read more pieces like your blog, they’d see a much more hopeful side to the issues that plague us everyday. Trump has caused a series of earthquakes that have revealed the fault lines in American politics. I think your post has expressed something that we all need to remember if we want to move on; we are all human, and that will always unite us. Thank you for this – you truly deserve it.

    You are a very, very strong writer. Please, never let go of that. The world needs to hear your voice!

    With love,
    Tarannum

  3. Dear Elissa,

    I am humbled and honoured to have read your unique response to the election. Your perspective is unlike many of the others that I have heard; there is passion in your disagreement with his policies and perspectives, but there is kindness in your willingness to give Mr Trump a chance. Some of the things you say really take my breath away because I could not rise the way that you do. I could not give such respect and love to someone who represents everything I hate, I would be incapable of compassion for someone like that. But you are not – you are strong in your convictions that there is a better way to go about pursuing beliefs, and you are willing to give him the opportunity to do better. That, to me, is the mark of a great human being, one that is far greater than I will ever be. Even as you wrote in the voice of a character, there was an authenticity to your words that makes me sure of what you wrote, makes me sure that you wrote these things because you believe them.
    I have to say that I love your structure. None of your paragraphs were long, but in this piece I actually liked that; there was a consistency to the stand-alone lines – all of which were significant and powerful. I also liked that you separated your piece into three parts, because as a reader that helped me to keep track of your character’s thoughts. The first part spoke of passion against the fear and lies of Trump, the second part spoke of giving an opportunity to him to do better, and the third spoke of a warning of what will happen if he tries to take advantage of your kindness. This was powerful because as each section of the piece became smaller in length, it became clear that your compassion had a tolerance that would shorten with each time he failed to live up to his title of President. I think that your structure, overall, was very clever and helped to emphasise your message.
    As something for you to work on, I would have liked to see you establish your character more, or else omit the character entirely and make this a piece focused on your opinions. The only glimpse of your character that the readers receive is an acknowledgement that he or she is a child, a mother, and a spouse. The limitations of your characterization meant that I just didn’t have enough to grasp. You either needed to flesh out your character and make him or her more relevant, or you needed to just change those three sentences so that they describe you. Either way, the narration needed to be more rounded and consistent.
    Once again, I would just like to express how appreciative I am of this piece, its message, and of your overall writing. Elissa, this really was brilliant; I am glad, truly glad, that I have read it. Thank you!

    Love,
    Ziyana

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