Amid “Muslim Ban” Chaos, Van Jones Sends in His Love Army
January 30, 2017
Lawyers and protestors took action: “Nobody’s going to fight alone.”
Watching my government implement a “Muslim ban” over the weekend has made it challenging to find positive feelings. Not of faith or hope, but of love, which I’ve read somewhere is the greatest of the three. Trump has already signed 10 executive orders that include attempts to roll back the Affordable Care Act, cut off federal dollars from organizations that perform abortions, expedite approval of the Dakota Access and Keystone oil pipelines, and crack down on immigration. These orders tend to directly affect the most vulnerable in this country—and in the world.
When I think about Trump, and those who voted to put him in office, love is the furthest from my mind.
And yet, a month after the election, social justice champion and longtime civil rights activist Van Jones announced a #LoveArmy campaign to fight Trump. So far, more than 100,000 people have signed up online.
Initially, I was skeptical. Really? A “Love Army”? The American people just put into power the epitome of hatred and division, and we’re supposed to feel … love? We don’t need love, I thought; we need strategy, we need better policies, we need to rid this country of racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, Islamophobia.
Eventually, I spoke with Jones, who passionately and sincerely shared his thoughts on our current state of government and why he’s just as committed to the Love Army now as he was in December.
