One of my favorite singer/songwriters is Joni Mitchell, and one of her most poignant of all her songs is “Big Yellow Taxi” with the lyrics: “Don’t it always seem to go / that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?”

Yes, I believe this is true. I have been thinking of Joni’s words today, the day following the 2024 presidential election in which Donald J. Trump was declared the winner for the second time in eight years. And I asked myself, what type of nation do I wish to live in?

Related

Has Donald Trump forever desensitized America to cruelty?
“Every time he crosses a new line, he makes it that much easier for the next guy to do so.”

I have always been aware of my political philosophy, and what I desire for my country, so I attempted to write this down:

Dive deeper every day

Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

I wish to live in a country that accepts the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, embraces people from other lands, and makes dreams come true for beautiful dreamers.

I wish to live in a country that honestly and thoroughly tackles its foundational and deeply entrenched racist past and its continuing legacy.

I wish to live in a country as expressed by the great Rev. Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., where all people “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

I wish to live in a country that ranks lowest in the world for incarcerations, where justice is doled out equally, equitably, and humanely regardless of background and social identities.

I wish to live in a country where all people of all sexes and genders have and maintain the unrestricted and unquestionable right to control their own bodies and are guaranteed their bodily autonomy.

I wish to live in a country where quality affordable healthcare is guaranteed as a human right.

I wish to live in a country that promotes the basic tenet that love is love and affirms the many relationship options.

I wish to live in a country that burns tattered gender scripts while cherishing everyone’s direction in their own gender expressions.

I wish to live in a country where all political parties and individual politicians care more about obediently serving and governing their country rather than gaining and maintaining power and control over others and by making financial profits.

I wish to live in a country that encourages and empowers the voices and civic engagement of young people and admires and respects our elders who have and are still contributing to the vitality of the country.

I wish to live in a country that values people who are differently abled in a society continually creating and offering accommodations they may require to live as independently as possible and to make their own decisions affecting their lives.

I wish to live in a country that remains open to the rest of the world and understands the interconnectedness of the international human village.

I wish to live in a country that comes to the aid of its allies and other countries and districts large and small around the world when its borders and sovereignty are threatened from within and without and when militarily more powerful nations invade, subjugate, and create humanitarian crises.

I wish to live in a country that establishes fair and equitable priorities to close the wage and wealth gap while meeting the urgent needs of the many.

I wish to live in a country that prizes science while cleaning our environment, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and investing at significantly higher levels in renewable clean and sustainable energy sources and in agricultural methods that eliminate greenhouse gases.

I wish to live in a country where the chief executive demonstrates grace, peace, intelligence, and competence from the enormous presidential megaphone to serve as a positive role model to We the People.

I wish to live in a country that respects activists asserting their constitutional rights of assembly and redressing grievances.

I wish to live in a country with a true and insurmountable wall separating religion from the government where no religious doctrine or tenet can ever be used as the basis for creating laws and standards for how one lives.

I wish to live in a country that ensures the equal protection of its laws regardless of who one is or where one comes from.

I wish to live in a country where leaders value our “free press” as “the fourth estate” and as one of the many people’s defenders of our democratic principles and institutions.

I wish to live in a country that values safety and security within our national community by eliminating current legal sales and distribution of firearms as if they were toys and candy.

I wish to live in a country where there is always a safety net to catch and uplift those in need.

I wish to live in a country that equitably funds public education independent of zip codes, values and upgrades the status and salary of the heroes within the noble teaching profession, and engages students in critical thought and consciousness to help in the transformation and liberation of themselves and their communities, free from censorship and the banning of curricular materials.

I wish to live in a country that gives due priority to the prevention of pandemics and the ravages of monumental health crises by mobilizing on a federal level to save the lives of people.

I wish to live in a country where the leaders remain grounded in the needs of the people and refrain from emulating authoritarian dictatorial regimes around the globe.

I wish to live in a country that cares for and truly respects other species on our planet.

Well, maybe, just maybe this will someday be that country in which I live, where we join together to work and vote to steer our country on a path toward freedom and justice for all, to work in solving the problems that have gotten us to this point of rupture, and to turn the tide in a spirit of dialogue and goodwill.

Yes, I wish to live in a country where people truly desire to form a more perfect union and world. It is not too late!

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.