With America and the world, in post-Trump election turmoil, I found myself thinking about America’s core values and ground rules. The United States of America is a country built by immigrants but now finds itself being led by a president who appears to play the blame game with immigrants.

One of the most well-known symbols of America must be the Statue of Liberty, or as this Lady Liberty is originally called: “Liberty Enlightening the World”. The sole purpose of the statue which was completed in 1884, is to enlighten mankind to the ideas of freedom and equality. Her light will prevail over darkness.

A caption of Emma Lazarus’ poem as written on the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty doesn’t just enlighten mankind, she also lights or guides the way through the Golden Doors which lead the oppressed to liberty and freedom.

With this in mind, I started this article. My initial article was all about reviewing Trump’s first week. Starting with inauguration day with its disrespectful speech (to say the least) in which Trump emphasized his goal of giving the power back to the people shortly after which he decided to completely ignore the voice of the people and instead focus on saving his own ego. During the inauguration, several protests erupted throughout the US. Correct me if I’m wrong but I can’t recall Trump giving any attention to those ‘the people’.

But this post has been written, re-written, edited only to be re-written again. I have been out of it for a week or two due to medical reasons but my fingers have been itching to write about Trump’s actions as US President. But honestly, it’s hard to keep up. It’s been like witnessing the birth of a dictatorial state. I can’t say I’m surprised but actually witnessing Trump go full speed has been a shocker nonetheless. We have seen dictatorial states come and go but I can’t say I have seen anything like this before.

Not only did Trump not give any attention to the worries and fears of the people during his first week, he decided to focus solemnly on his own ego by attacking the media for their ‘false’ portrayal of the crowd sizes during his inauguration. For someone claiming to want to hand the power back to the people, he seems to have a small understanding of the fact that a President is there to serve the people. Not to boost his own ego. Not to mention the alarmingness of a President dedicating his first press conference on spreading lies, attack the free press and ‘saving’ his own sense of self-worth.

Wrapping it up with the tremendous capacity of the people to bounce back. It’s been truly inspiring to see people from all over the US, all over the world even, gather to let their voices be heard. That’s what true democracy is all about. Over 600 sister marches worldwide lead by the women’s march in Washington DC. One of the most impressive, heartwarming and encouraging marches I have ever seen. After electing a president who represents himself as a notorious misogynist, a march on women’s rights alone would have been completely just if not expected. But these marches, with millions attending in the US alone, stand for so much more than merely women’s rights. The marchers stood up for equal rights in the broadest term of the word. Gender equality, racial equality, economic justice & equal pay, LGBT equality, reproductive freedom, environmental protection, racial profiling and so on.

This was truly a march for the people, by the people. Something Trump should have rejoiced after his ‘power to the people’ statement. But again, no attention was given to the voice of the people. Instead, Trump spends his day addressing the CIA at their Langley headquarters. Telling them how amazing he thinks they are, even though his tweet history suggests otherwise, and complaining about the media spreading ‘lies’ about the turnout during inauguration day.

Trump issuing his immigration ban was the moment my head really started spinning. This is when I decided to re-write my article and focus on the heartwarming & humanity-first responses instead of on Trump himself. This is a good news focussed blog after all. Not to mention the ‘Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate’-idea it’s built on.

So here are some of the best Trump replies I have seen this week.

Although inspiring, heartwarming and empowering, I sincerely hope that we can keep this up. Eventually, even the things we dislike tend to become the new normal. So let’s not forget the meaning and importance of humanity and our ability to recognize the lack thereof. Keep this up! Let your voices be heard and stand up for what is right.

America Ferrera: ‘We too must stand united. If we, the millions of Americans who believe in common decency, in a greater good, in justice for all, if we fall into the trap of separating ourselves by our causes and our labels than we will weaken our fight and we will lose. But, if we commit to what aligns us, if we stand together set fast and determined, then we stand a chance at saving the soul of our country’.

Also read: We the people: Obama’s farewell address