Another day, another step backward.

As you know, the recent piece of legislature passed by our wonderful, caring, cautious, eloquent, wise, very, very, very mature president has set forth to ban transgender individuals from enlisting in the military. Never mind their devotion to a country that has largely let them down, never mind the fact that the costs of their medicals and enlistment cited for the ban amounts to only .6 percent of the entire transgender faction of troops, never mind that this action will probably give way to other institutions creating similar bans, or never mind that it's a petty act by a frustrated, warped generation. Never mind any of that.

(Oh, and their enlistment's not a goddamn social experiment, it's an oath, a courageous one braver than most of those who criticize their enlistment, so that needs to stop)

Plain and simple, it's a huge blow to a minority group in America struggling to gain common, unalienable rights, much less survive against bigots in their daily lives. A blind, desperate act of fear, and nothing more. Just like the Muslim travel ban, innocent people - minorities and those in poverty especially - will continue this struggle to happily exist in the country, a struggle that needn't ever exist in the first place. And let's not begin on the environmental or health fractures, I'm sure I'll probably write about those some time in the near future.

Really infuriating, isn't it? Really puts a bubble of anger in your stomach, huh? Worse, it's easy to feel powerless. Like an insignificant bystander gaping at the gates of government. But I'm about to let you in on a wonderful secret:

You do NOT have to stand by and watch events like these unfold, as your fellow human is preyed upon. You have a voice! You have a soul, you have strength, incredible strength! Because ideas are hard to kill, in fact, they're nigh invulnerable. If an idea of hate can spread through Washington, an idea of love stands an equal chance of victory. Please, never underestimate your own power. Do you think Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafzai, or any of the great heroes of good backed down because they thought they themselves were only one? They had doubts, but giving up because of the odds? Never. A shout can echo in an immense, hollow room, remember that. It's hard. You will be embroiled in arguments. Your integrity will be questioned and attacked. You will be forced to reevaluate both your life and the system in which your life in particular exists. Shifts in perception are uncomfortable, but they clear out the recesses in your eyes. The vision is crystalline. Pure.

Sometimes, you will be forced to confront these issues in friends and family, an excellent place to start on the ladder. It's hard - so is waking up in the morning. If you know you are right, if you truly, empirically, fundamentally know you are right and you possess the desire to see that change, then brace yourself with the courage to march forward. Your spirit will assume command.

Ooh, but there's one lingering question - if we're not politicians, what do we do? How do we enter the colosseum if we lack fighting knowledge? This is a tricky one, believe me.

I'm in film and television; believe me, I constantly grappled with the how just how could I enter the realm of humanities? Easy! Every skill set, every trade ties back to helping society run. Well, like, 99 percent of them do. I can fight back through film and stories, or even articles on some strange college-based website that who knows how many people read! And that's only on a personal scale. There are so many facilities - protests, town halls, grassroots movements, local political participation, viral, my god, the list is endless! Here's a rather good list of ways to get active.

There are no core classes to doing good. Search your arsenal, and you can find that what you are capable of is beyond imagination. That is what the hateful and petty fear most.

No one's saying you have to. But to be honest? You should, now, more than ever. Your humanity demands you act. The time to sit by is over. On a journey of singular purpose, all paths lead to the same endpoint. The question is: what path will you take?