TOW #17: "My Resistance Movement"

This article was incredibly powerful to read after months spent mourning the results of the election and wondering how I can use my powers to help resist and make real change in the world. Wajahat Ali's central claim was simple, yet impactful: resistance is existence. Resistance is hope, love, forgiveness, and "fight[ing] back when necessary." I believe that this is the simplest way to describe my own feelings regarding the election results, and agree strongly with his central argument. While so much of the recent political climate has brought out the ugly parts of humanity, it has also brought out some of the most beautiful parts -- showing that a community of people determined to make a change in the world can and will do so.

Whether it is the recent Women's Marches all across the world, Black Lives Matter protests, or simpler, smaller acts of kindness, a new kind of revolution is springing up in reaction to a campaign fueled by hatred and divisiveness. Ali addresses this by saying "even though the cruelty of the earliest days of President Trump's administration seems like the horsemen signaling the end of times, the crisis has also awakened a multicultural coalition in America determined to resist." We see this resistance everywhere we look, in small and big actions.

The line from Ali's essay that really struck a chord with me was "the days look bleak right now, but I refuse to give into cynicism, nihilism, or hate. My faith commands me to remain hopeful." He then adds a quote from the Prophet Muhammad -- "Even if you see the day of judgment coming around the corner, plant a seed." These kinds of messages of spreading love and hope in dark times are perhaps cliche, but needed. Ali's piece is written during a era where, at times, it seems as though hate has won out and greed has overtaken humanity. He reminds readers that resistance is not solely found in the bigger, bold actions like protests and demonstrations -- although those play a crucial part in the movement. Ali states that "resistance means arming yourself with ferocity and compassion... resistance for me is owning my multi-hyphenated identity...resistance is the Arabic names and caramel-mocha brown faces of my children, smiling in the age of carnage." This way of looking at the more simpler forms of resistance has inspired me in such a dark time. I exist, therefore I resist.