1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

First, I want to thank you for your service during this difficult time. As you well know, over the last months and years, the citizens of this country have been inundated with hatred, threats, and vitriol – especially the most vulnerable people. Now that Donald Trump has won again, many of us can see how much escalation there has been over the last years and we hear the alarms and realize we must respond with haste, wisdom & vehemence in return. What is at stake? From my perspective as [the secretary/president of a local chapter of PFLAG, trauma therapist, and national educator], I see the following major issues: 1) The severe breach of epistemic trust amongst citizens toward their leaders and citizens toward each other 2) Extreme & imminent danger when Donald Trump takes office for: i) Immigrants and their families, most likely including some who were born here or are here legally under programs the Trump administration does not like and plans to reverse ii) Transgender people and their families, who are terrified of losing access to life-saving healthcare and regulated to the point of being “encamped” in their homes (or worse) iii) Women’s autonomy, not only over their own bodies, but also their right to work, vote, and walk freely and safely in public without harassment, which many men seem to think they have permission to do now. 3) The loss of access to important scholarship and the inability to discuss ideas that counter the government – the death of Freedom of Speech 4) Severe punitive responses to minor infractions – mass incarceration, especially of people of color, queer people, and others due to the loss of oversite of diversity-related organizations & laws 5) The loss of access to healthcare and other important accommodations for disabled people and others due to the end of the Affordable Care Act or other legal limitations that are not based on medical necessity but ideological mandates 6) Continued poisoning of the air due to an end to environmental safeguards 7) The inability to afford the basics of food, clothing, and shelter due to extreme tariffs, high work call-outs due to stress, the void of millions of deported workers, and the like 8) The end of much needed regulations for our food and drugs and other key areas of life