One my favorite comedians, Aziz Ansari hosted Saturday Night Live last weekend. Comedians can't have new material constantly, therefore Aziz hasn't said too much on Trump and definitely nothing too recently.
Granted his SNL monologue was the day after Trump's inauguration we had to see the end of that. I will say it was a little disheartening to hear Aziz mention Trump at length. It was another blow that meant, "This is it. This is our reality now. Trump has reached every corner of our entertainment and escapism." But Trump should. At this point we can't pretend anymore. This is reality, and we can't bring change if we don't face this.
Aziz had some great jokes like that the fact that immediately after Trump was sworn in "an entire gender protested against him," or that because of Trump he was reminiscing the "eloquence" of George W. Bush.
A nice final thought from Aziz's monologue was that "If you look at our country's history, change doesn't come from presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people. And if day one is any indication... you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen. Good luck to you."
I will admit, that after seeing the crowds with pink hats and signs, the thought that we're one collective group fighting for change (or at least fighting for bad changes to not happen) is comforting. It was fantastic and inspiring to see how many women and other genders were at the march. Some signs were funny, some thought provoking, and other signs reached my deepest "hell yeah!" There was a feeling of not being alone, and feeling less powerless. All on day one.
This is all a form victory and something to be appreciated. Yet, I can't share quite the same optimism that Aziz Ansari showed.
The fact that this is day one could also serve a problem. We have about 1,460 days to go... assuming Trump serve one full term. In that time we have to keep up this energy. We can't get apathetic or move on too quickly. We also can't let the little policy changes slide just because they weren't our biggest fears.
One victory can't make it seem like our job is done. I know that's the furthest thought from any marchers mind, but remember that our daily preoccupations may slowly take over and leave us less vigilant months from now.
We have to remember that we have strength in numbers. If everyone who marched donated to Planned Parenthood and other important organizations we could really continue this difference-making momentum. We need these same huge numbers calling congressmen and have concerns tallied. We need these same numbers caring about Black Lives Matter, going to other protests, and keeping the "intersectional" in front of "feminism."
This crowd must stay ahead of lies in the media and make sure the truth about the White House is the version that spreads. We have to be articulate about our views and the why of our view, and then help form a bridge for those who want to join us. We have to remind ourselves that no, this is not normal and yes, we should keep panicking. We'll have to keeping reminding ourselves and reminding each other again and again.
In short, we have to keep fighting. If we think everything is going to be okay because we all came together once, we're wrong. If we're going to be okay it's because we stayed together. When we can do that, what everyone is saying will be true; this is only day one, and you haven't seen anything yet.
