…with liberty and justice for all.

This isn’t a catchphrase. It is supposed to be what the United States stands for.

We don’t do great at it – disabled people of color, for instance, have a higher chance of being killed by police than I do as a white disabled queer person. Many parts of the country are still incredibly hostile to those of us who are disabled, LGBT+, or a part of any other marginalized community.

If you’re not a middle-to-upper-class cishet abled white dude, America doesn’t treat you well.

But this past week? It’s removing what democracy we had. Some of my friends aren’t able to visit home despite having green cards for fear that they’ll never be able to come back here for studies, work, and to be with their families.

This is wrong. It is a gross injustice and against everything our country was founded upon.

We are not a Christian nation. We were founded on ideals of religious tolerance, that we should allow all religions to be different than the countries we came from.

I know these things because, unlike those who claim to practice certain religions, I’ve actually studied them. My undergraduate degree is in religious studies, history, and politics.

Before my illnesses progressed too far for me to continue, I studied the Middle East and Islam and Arabic. I know so many who call or have called the Middle East home at one point or another. Islam, like any other religion, is peaceful. Yes, it can be coopted, but so can any religion.

In fact, I would argue this has happened to Christianity here – people who claim to hold true to the ideals of love thy neighbor are doing exactly the opposite.

I cannot stand for the hatred currently being normalized by our ‘leaders’ in this country. Nazism, white supremacy, and genocide will not become the norm here. We will fight.

Chronic Sex will remain a place that stands up for everyone, that values each and every life. Someone’s religious beliefs or heritage or ability should have no bearing on how much we, as a society, treat them. Every person deserves love and safety. Every person deserves justice. We are going to promote that for the rest of our existence.