I, like many, was a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump since the day he announced his presidential bid all the way back in 2015. I even wrote a lengthy article on my former blog titled “5 Reasons Donald Trump is Unfit to be President of the U.S.,” that received a mostly positive response (I wish I would have archived the blog before letting it disappear into the Internet beyond).

I’m sure you can imagine that I was not elated about Trump’s victory over Clinton (although I would like to note that I in no way, shape or form voted for or supported Hillary Clinton), but I also was trying to keep an open mind and positive attitude about the incoming administration. Even as more and more of the same billionaire swamp-types (“Drain the Swamp” am i right?) were nominated for cabinet posts, I still told people who expressed worry to me that it might not turn out so bad.

Even as Trump began his presidency by immediately deleting scientific data from government websites and shutting down environmental agency’s Twitter handles, I still tried to remain positive. “People are archiving that information,” I told myself, “It won’t be lost.”

Even after Trump signed a temporary halt on immigration from seven Muslim majority countries while leaving out countries he and the U.S. benefit from economically (*cough* Saudi Arabia *cough*), I knew the courts would fight it as they have, but the way the rhetoric seemed to be shifting from combatting extremism to combatting Islam in general began to trouble me.

Still I try to remain positive that if people continue to unite against unjust actions by the current administration that we will be able to fight anything they throw at us.

But then Donald Trump signed executive orders advancing construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline and shortly after that the Army Corps of Engineers scrapped an environmental review they were supposed to carry out on the entire pipeline and instead granted permission for construction to continue.

Is this where I draw the line? This is common sense to anybody with half a brain and even a shred of humanity, yet the President has the gall to say he doesn't think the pipelines are a controversial issue?

I’m done pussyfooting around this administration’s actions so as not to offend people who voted for Trump. In less than a month he has already made attacks against the environment and against marginalized people, and I’m not going to sit here and pretend this is politics as usual anymore.

This is not politics as usual. We have many inexperienced individuals holding high positions of power in the U.S. right now. The American people need to be vigilant in watching this administration in the mainstream media, but also paying attention to alternative news sources as well.

This is just the beginning, and I still hope for the best. I hope that I’m being a worry wart and that the next four years pass relatively smoothly with no more wars started and no civil rights taken. But that is the optimist in me speaking. The realist isn’t so sure.