People still hold power, Mr. President

Amanda Gorman once said, “Yet we are far from polished, far from pristine; but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect, we are striving to forge a union with purpose.”

I have the poem memorized, Mr. President, and I can assure you that purpose wasn’t to deliver wealth to the already wealthy, and steal from the good, hardworking citizens of the United States.

And they’re here, not because we are united under one skin color, one culture, one class, but in fact, because we are not. Because we are made up of thousands. A thousand colors, cultures, hopes, and fears. We are made up of every “nook of our nation, every corner called our country. Our people, diverse and beautiful.”

You may be in the White House, Mr. President, and you may think you have the power, but you have nothing to stand against the power of the people, the power you cannot, will not, take away from us. I speak for the women, the people of color, the LGBTQIA+, those in poverty.

Hoarse with voices loud, and voices silenced. I speak for the white, straight, males, who you think you control. Who you think will follow you to the ends of the earth. The American People wouldn’t follow you to Heaven, Donald Trump. Don’t expect us to go silently to hell.

Mattea Spivey, age 13

Everett

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