Ruth Bader Ginsburg led an amazing life, but unfortunately, our country is fearful to celebrate her life because of what may come next. September 18th is only 46 days from the 2020 presidential election and 124 days from inauguration, and the Republican majority Senate and the Trump administration are fully aware of the circumstances and the potential opportunity they have here.

According to Business Insider, Oklahoma is the sixth most Conservative state in the country. This statistic makes it seem impossible that my state, Oklahoma, could ever be a stronghold for Progressives, right? If this is your perception of my state, you are not only deceived, but I will show you that not only is Oklahoma not Conservative, it’s Socialist. Progressive politics could win over the state in one election cycle, and this is the way to victory for America’s Progressives in Oklahoma. 

While some of my classmates and the younger adults in the area have stood up on their Instagram stories or even attended protests, many people simply posted a black square for Instagram’s Blackout Tuesday and then went silent about the problems we are facing. Some of the other conservative kids and adults have condemned others for standing up against racism and claimed we are only spreading “violence.” Violence!? How is standing up against police brutality and racism spreading violence?

Almost every morning for the past four years, my peers have hopped out of their cars and marched into school for first period - backpacks on and worried they might fail whatever test they have that day. Hardly anyone seems to notice or care about Mississippi’s state flag they pass merely fifty yards from the schools’ entrance. Clearly and inescapably, the flag depicts the Confederate battle emblem. For decades, this symbol has caused a polarizing divide between both non-residents and residents of Mississippi. Yet it has been normalized. Though it is long overdue, changes to the state flag of Mississippi are finally happening.

When immigrating from South America to the United States, my parents decided to move our family to Scarsdale, New York, because of the amazing academic reputation the school district has. Scarsdale High School (SHS) is one of the best public schools in new york state and the entire country. I quickly found out that the lack of diversity negatively impacted my social life, and I was isolated, receiving a lot of racism and xenophobia. Here are some of my experiences, as someone who just graduated from Scarsdale High School, the school known for its seemingly perfect reputation.

It’s no secret that from a young age, children begin picking up notions of race. A recent study I read mentioned that even starting from as young as the age of two, children begin to pick their friends by who looks similar to them. Racial differences are ingrained in us. And that’s not necessarily bad, because most people take pride in their ethnicity—I know I do!—but it becomes problematic when we selectively discriminate against those who do not look like us.

As a fifteen-year-old white female from an upper-class suburb, most of my experiences with racism have been through textbooks and history lessons. In the past week, however, I was shocked at the number of social media posts concerning racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement. People who wear “Make America Great Again” hats to school sports games are suddenly preaching messages of unity and justice.

A blanket of silence draped over Times Square, the center of the City That Never Sleeps, as thousands of protesters dropped to their knees with their fists pointing to the sky, in solidarity, mourning the loss of far too many black men and women to America’s most lethal weapon: police brutality. It was perhaps the quietest Times Square has ever been, and for two minutes, the world seemed to have stopped moving.

This is not the first time an unarmed black man has been killed by police, and this is not the first time there has been uproar. However - and call me naive - something about this feels different. America has been angry for a while now, but it feels as if her anger has bubbled up from underneath us and has now risen to the surface. Her fury is palpable, it is visible.

When the Black Lives Matter movement began to take over the news cycle with the most recent police brutality murders, dominating current social culture and overtaking the media’s presence, I had no idea what to say. So I said nothing.

Some part of me was stuck in the mindset that this did not involve me. Events like this had come and gone in the past, and I was honestly just confused for a while. I didn't mean to ignore the issue, but hours slipped into days, and I remained quiet.

The first day I walked into those hallowed halls, I was immediately hit with huge culture shock. While all of my old friends were from the city, the students at my new school hailed from every suburb in Illinois. The teachers were stern and old-fashioned. The rules were strict. Although my old school didn’t even have a dress code, in Catholic school, it was collared shirts and khakis every day. We went to Mass, prayed in every class, and studied religion regularly. I hadn’t gone to church in years, and now I was learning about the Book of Job and the Gospels every day.

I grew up in a Christian household in Missouri, meaning I spent my weekends in church and my summers at Vacation Bible School. VBS mostly entailed games, fun crafts, snacks, and lots of songs. Naturally, I loved it growing up. One day after snack, I remember, a guest speaker came to our class with a ‘Pro-Life’ button pinned to her chest. We all sat down on a carpet and let the church shove their anti-abortion propaganda down our throats.

On September 27th, 2018 at 3:05 PM, when the last bell rings, hundreds of students gathered in the library surrounding various computers. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was scheduled to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee an hour earlier, which meant CNN Live Broadcast was still going. Silence filled the air as students from around the DC Private schools watched the fate of their alumni. Instagram feeds lit up with stories that say either, “I stand with Dr. Ford” or “I stand with Brett Kavanaugh”.

Where I live, if a teenage boy doesn’t have a Trump sign hanging somewhere in his bedroom, I am shocked. When I go to a friend’s house, there is almost always a gun in the house. Many people I know are not necessarily homophobic, but they do not support the LGBTQ community. These are just things I have gotten used to living in Columbia, South Carolina for the past 15 years.

At least once a month, I am asked to join the NRA. Shiny packets will arrive in the mail, or old men in red hats will stop me at the mall. I’ll smile and nod, politely declining to “protect my rights and family”. I’ll throw the stretchy wristband or commemorative koozie away as I walk away silently fuming. I’ve learned that fighting back is futile- “screaming teenage girl outside Great American Cookie” doesn’t carry the strongest ethos. NRA members appealing to Alabama’s youth infuriates me. 

On August 26 Thad Balkman, an Oklahoma district judge, ordered the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson to pay 572 Million dollars to the state and its residence as a consequence of its role in Oklahoma’s devastating Opioid Addiction Crisis. More than 900 people die each week due to chronic opioid addiction.

His strategy is clear: make it appear as if Democratic governors are restricting the freedoms of their constituents. Unfortunately for Trump, his approval ratings have tanked. His unifying message has only divided the country, angering medical professionals, inciting violent protests, and delaying the ultimate safe reopening date of the country.