I went downtown with friends Monday morning to protest Trump's cabinet appointees - all of whom deny the very real science of climate change. We gathered with other small groups to form a crowd of 100 or so outside of the offices of Senator Michael Bennet and Senator Cory Gardner. (See photo here). We sang, spoke, gave interviews and supported each other on the #DayAgainstDenial.
Meeting other knots of committed citizens fortified my fighting spirit . . . and then I came home to rest my sore feet and watch the Golden Globes on DVR. And there was Meryl Streep, who gave an empassioned defense of empathy, of relating to others who look and think differently. Ms. Streep moved her real-life audience to tears, even as I ran for tissues, stumbling over the cats in my desperation.
The entire content of her speech was published in the NY Times and can be found here. Streep related the agony she felt when watching President-elect Trump's non-empathetic acting performance this past year, when he mocked a disabled reporter in front of a live and television audience. Needless to say, Mr. Trump denied this act and immediately engaged in one-sided Twitter warfare against Ms. Streep.
But the actresses' speech raised tens of thousands of dollars for the defense of the free press, and she has rallied new supporters to the cause of truth and protected speech. Truth, as in climate change is real and strong people don't bully those who are weaker. Streep is one of my heroes, one of my Dumbledores or Gandalfs. I hope that our Colorado senators stand up to the egregious Cabinet nominees with the same passion and spirit that America's leading actress demonstrated in her speech last night.
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