By Lisa Young, Director, Idaho Sierra Club
Election night was rough. The next morning was even worse. I stared at the election results on my phone screen in disbelief. Not only did Donald Trump win, but he won early on and in a landslide. No more waiting and holding out for the possibility that Kamala Harris could still snag the remaining swing state votes and pull ahead. It was over and done. Trump won, and will run our nation’s highest office for the next four years.
I was immediately overcome with grief, sadness, and hopelessness, knowing what a Trump presidency will mean for our planet and our communities. We know what happened last time: good policies rolled back, bad policies moved forward, and, most importantly, families torn apart, human rights revoked, and countless lives lost. A second Trump term will unleash the same threats with even more fervor.
I wiped my tears, took my kids to school, and then spent the day connecting with my colleagues in Sierra Club over emails, chats, texts, and video calls. We shared our grief and anger, along with what’s giving us hope. We shared other election losses and wins in states in the Northwest and across the country. We shared our short-term plans for creating community spaces to support our members, and our long-term plans for resisting Trump’s agenda and pushing for climate solutions despite it all. We shared our fears but also our faith in our movement’s ability to stay strong, to not give up, and to fight like hell for the people and places we love. This is how change has happened throughout history, through social movements that don’t give up, no matter what.
I’m still mourning the election results, and still frightened for so many in our communities who will be directly impacted by the reckless actions of a Trump Administration. But I’ve also found comfort, strength, and power to keep moving forward in this organization that I’m proud to be a part of and honored to lead here in Idaho. How better could I spend my time these next four years than in this work? I'm already surrounded by these incredibly skilled colleagues, this massive base of supporters across the state, this vast network of inspiring community partners, all ready and willing to roll up our sleeves, organize our communities, shift the public narrative, change public policies, build a diverse and unstoppable movement, and lift each other up every step of the way.
So, yeah, I'm not giving up. Idaho needs our movement more than ever before. Our sacred grizzly bears and salmon on the verge of extinction need our movement. Our rapidly changing climate spurring deadly heat waves and wildfires needs our movement. Our neighbors struggling to pay their rising power bills need our movement. Our LGBTQ+ friends who can't even safely enjoy Idaho's outdoors to escape our government's attacks on their personhood need our movement. Our young people trying to find any seeds of hope in their future need our movement. All of us as environmental and social justice advocates in this politically hostile state need our movement.
Together, arm-in-arm, we will keep our sights set on truth and justice, to create the equitable, affordable, and transformative solutions to each of these problems that we know exist.
That’s what I want to be part of right now. That’s what I commit to continue building here at Idaho Sierra Club. And I invite all Idahoans with a shared vision and values to join me.