1,459 Days and Counting

On the first day of the Trump Presidency, millions of women, men, and children marched in peaceful protest to an overt, calculated, and successful attack on women, human rights, civil discourse, and freedom of speech. I was one of them. We were marching against misogyny, racism, and protectionism; and we were marching for women's voices, truth, and respect. Those who committed to the gathering at the start of the march learned an important lesson -- launching a movement takes time to build momentum. And at the start, progress seems slow or non-existent, but momentum is building. You can't see it, you can't touch it, but when it crosses the threshold, you can't stop it.

For all those that believe that protesting and/or marching does nothing must have missed the class on Newton's Three Laws of Motion. Here's a brief primer:

Law #1: An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. For those who are still asking themselves how did Trump win the presidency, it came about because of this law of inertia. The unbalanced force (Trump) took an invisible, angry, disenfranchised electorate and set it in motion. There was no opposing unbalanced force great enough to stop the momentum. Balanced force is not great enough to stop a movement.

Law #2: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass the greater the amount of force needed. This law should give everyone who marched hope. Trump and the GOP will need to continue to produce a force to accelerate their plan. For those who want to accelerate an alternative movement, the force that fueled yesterday's march will need to continue to grow so that it has both time and speed on its side. That will require each and every person to battle complacency and inertia on a daily basis.

Law #3: For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action. For some, they may think that this makes an anti-Trump movement inevitable. A cautionary note: running for cover, avoidance, and incrementalism are all actions. And if enough people adopt that route it can equal a fairly big Trumpian action. Think of a wave that hits a beach devoid of obstacles. The force of that wave is dissipated over distance and time. Now think of that same wave hitting a seawall with the same force. The water shoots into the air as an equal and opposite reaction. In both cases the same amount of energy is exchanged, yet with very different outcomes.

For me, I've decided to put Newton's Laws into action. I pledge to be that unbalanced force. I pledge to battle inertia on a daily basis. And I pledge to be that opposite action, to be the obstacle, and to lend my voice to the movement. For the next 1,459 days, in visible and invisible ways, I will join the movement.because each of us needs to be a hero. This Invisible Girl has found her cape, have you found yours?

#WomensMarch #newtonslaws #creatingamovement #protest #2020 #antiTrumpheroes