I am about to embark upon something on Facebook and possibly other social media. I am going to start posting up every second Monday, asking people what rights they have lost in the previous two weeks. I am going to make this a relatively serious question, because frankly, if someone actually *does* have their rights restricted, I want to know about it. Whether it’s gun rights, freedom of speech and/or religion, or whatever, we should be on top of that. More than that, though, I want it to be a *polite* reminder to my friends and acquaintances that they haven’t actually lost any rights.
I am including the first draft of the message below. I’m posting it here, because I’d like your feedback! Note, this is meant to be a reminder yes, and some people may see it as snark, but I’m trying to make this serious and real, as well. I want it to resonate with people, and maybe make them feel just a little bit uncomfortable. This is for *the person*, not “someone they know” or “that random group over there.” I may choose (but haven’t yet decided whether) to allow folks to include close friends in their reports (defined as “someone you know personally, face to face, have hugged, laughed, and cried with”).
The message:
Dear friends, family, acquaintances, followers…
There are a lot of people feeling vulnerable and concerned right now. I understand your feelings. I want to understand better, during Trump’s first (and possibly subsequent) year as President, what rights are being infringed upon by either Trump or the government (at any level). This question is put out there for YOU, the person reading it. It is not there for other people. I don’t want you to speak for other people (though I heartily encourage you to let other people know about my little experiment, and invite them to join in!). I want to know what YOU are losing or having infringed.
This is a serious question on my part. I currently have a “research set” of one: me. That’s not enough. I need to hear what other people are experiencing, first hand. But I also need you to understand, I will research this stuff. I WANT to research this stuff. If a claim is made, and it doesn’t match reality, I will explain why and provide any related information I have access to. My hope is that this will encourage conversation, logical thought, and mental and emotional organization on my own part, and the part of others. I have other folks who are very interested in rights that have been infringed upon, and I will pass along information to those others who may have the ability to enact changes or challenges.
As an example, I firmly believe (and have quite a bit of paperwork and research to back me up) that banning TikTok was and is an infringement of my First Amendment rights. While it affects other people, I am touting it as something that hurt/damaged/impinged upon ME individually. I lost MY right to speak freely on an app of my choice.
So I ask you, what rights of yours have been infringed upon since President Trump took office on January 20, 2025?
Alright, what do you think? I realize many of you may believe it’s pointless, and you might be right. But it was questions like this that caused ME to change my mind on things. I owe it to other people that I love to ask again and again for them to apply logic, even when it’s painful.
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