I wrote the following piece in February 2017 and posted it in a private Facebook group for the members of Lawyers for Good Government. I’m sharing it here, just after the passage of a disastrous “healthcare” bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, as a reminder that we must never give up the fight for the future of our country. We must resist not only the forces of injustice but also the forces of inertia and complacency. A government that would deprive millions of people of basic healthcare coverage is not a government worthy of the American people. #resist #persist #nevergiveup

“Nevertheless, she persisted.”

As will we.

We have been warned and explained-to by those who believe we should sit down and shut up.

We have been told that our voices are unwelcome, unappealing, and uninformed.

We have been criticized for the hats many of us choose to wear and for the weight many of us are unwilling or unable to lose.

We have been deemed too unfeminine to be worth listening to or in some cases too feminine to have a truly intelligent idea.

Our objections to an entirely unqualified person becoming the Secretary of Education were written off by senators running risk/reward calculations on the political impact of their vote, rather than running risk/reward calculations on the societal impact of an inadequate educational system.

Our protests in support of basic human rights are characterized as temper tantrums by so-called leaders who complain loudly about television comedy shows and department store business deals.

Nevertheless, we will persist.

We will resist the urge to give in, to let it go, to just be quiet already.

We will resist the tempting comfort of “things aren’t as bad as you think.”

We will insist on being heard, even when we’d rather be quiet, because we have something important to say.

We will raise our voices to fight for sanity and decency and justice for as long as we must.

We will raise our children to do the same for as long as they must.

We may be ridiculed and mocked by many who should be standing with us, but we will persist.

We will have each others’ backs on this. We will be brothers and sisters in this fight.

We will persist.

It is our duty, and an honor.

Traci Feit Love is the founder & executive director of Lawyers for Good Government.