Why Fight?

So, Donal Trump is our next president. I can’t believe. You can’t believe. I don’t think he can believe it.

2016 is a weird year. Seemingly every famous person above the age of 60 is dying. The Cubs won the World Series. Trump is president. I got married. Good and bad, all rolled into 365 days of random actions and inactions that some how lead to what is happening today.

So, what is happening today? Protest. Lots of them. Fueled by the insane results of of last week, people are getting out of the house and demanding to be heard.

And this got me thinking. Why fight?

See, I was raised on combat sports. We wrestled, did karate and watched Ali. If you ask am I good at any one of these things, I will tell you that I am easily the worst.

But growing up this way you go down two paths. One is to be drawn into the want/need for combat and you find reasons to mix it up with people, literally or figuratively. Or, you go down the path of observing battles and wondering, Why fight?

I mean, think about it. Trump won in a fair election. It’s not like it was rigged (like he thought it would be against him). It’s not like a coup occurred (like the one he antagonized if he lost). It was fair and square competition. Which normally is something I can get behind.

But this, this whole thing just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Kind of like how your mouth feels at 4 a.m. after a night of drinking. You went a little overboard, and now you are dealing with the consequences.

But why all this protesting then? We are all Americans. We all live the same country and are the same citizens. So, why fight?

Ask yourself this question enough and you realize everyone fights for the same reason. We fight to protect, for honor, for our family. Why isn’t ever the reason people get out into the streets and protest. People will always find a reason.

The existential breakdown we are having isn’t over “Why” we should fight. It is what we are fighting for that matter. We are fighting for a future. We are fighting for our lives and the lives of others to be respected, regardless of their ethnicity, heritage, sexual orientation or gender identification, socio-economic status and other facets that culminate into a meat-bag covered in skin and given intellect, self-awareness and a consciousness.

Why fight? For values. But what we are fighting for is human beings. To be heard, seen and understood. To be loved, respected and cared for. To be held, supported and tended to. To be empowered, enabled and encouraged. To not patronize or demonize.

Finding a reason to fight ends up being the easy part, when you know where to look. Actually fighting for something that is honest and pure…well there’s the rub, isn’t it?