For about the last decade, people increasingly seem to be waking up to the fact that there's something very wrong in the USA. As a citizen, I'm sorry that my country of origin is so good at making its problems the world's.

There's a lot of hyperbole: "It's never been this bad!" To put things in perspective, if you're white, straight, cis-gendered, male, able-bodied, and upper middle class, maybe not. Otherwise, maybe not in your lifetime. We're talking about a country that built its sprawling economy on stolen land, slavery, blood, and exploitation. A country where women weren't allowed to vote and Black people weren't considered people. A country that violated treaty after treaty, sterilized people based on things such as their ethnicity and IQ, put Asian Americans in camps, and razed Tulsa, Oklahoma, just to name a few atrocities committed by "The land of the Free." And that's just against its own citizens.

America is a flawed democracy. It is a broken, increasingly violent system. It is a cautionary tale. This can and will continue to happen in countries that preach democracy but are not kept in check by an informed population. The people of a country are not free until everyone is free. They do not have equal rights until everyone has equal rights.

"It's never been this bad. What can I do?" It has never been this bad for you personally. It has been worse for people who are not you in the past-in ways you can probably scarcely imagine, and things have, on the whole, changed for the better, while still preserving many injustices. This isn't a criticism of you or your strength of will or character. Most of us are raised in a culture of fear and disenfranchisement. Our own government and institutions rely on fear of the "other" to garner votes. Companies promote fear because it generates engagement. At their best, they disregard the human cost of how these practices radicalize and isolate people. At worst, they capitalize on this very fear for further monetization. This isn't a criticism of your character if you've felt powerless up to this point. If you have, that's the system working as intended. This is a call for action, solidarity and hope.

While it's never been this bad for some of us in our lifetimes, it has been worse for others, and it has also been better. This is not the time to withdraw and cling to the belief that they will not break down your door, that you will be spared. This is the time to find community, to organize, to find sources of strength, to seek out people you can trust, and to support one another. Things may get worse, but they will not get better if we allow fear to immobilize us. The power of human beings is formidable, and we are capable of forging a better future. No matter where you are, please take care of one another, take action (however big or small) and keep hope in your hearts. It is never too late.