Dear immigrants to America,
I am sorry for the unkindness you will encounter in the coming years. I am sorry you will not feel welcome in this country you call home. I am sorry for the policies this administration is putting in place, which make it harder than it should be to build a life here. I am sorry for the seemingly endless bureaucracy. I am sorry for all the closed doors that should have been open. I am sorry for all the people who will look at you like you do not belong when, in truth, this country was built by people like you. I am sorry that you will be treated as an ‘other’ to be opposed when you have always been a note in our American symphony. I am sorry that you may have to endure losing family and friends to a xenophobic regime looking for a scapegoat.
Dear Black Americans,
I am sorry that after centuries of enslavement, segregation and systemic oppression, this nation still does not honor you as it should. I am sorry for the injustice that still stains courtrooms, classrooms, workplaces and streets. I am sorry for the exhaustion of fighting battles that should have been won decades ago. I am sorry for every name that became a hashtag when it should have been a story of a life, not a loss. I am sorry that you are treated like a problem to be solved, all while your culture is routinely adapted into greater American culture and its roots are forgotten. I am sorry that so many of your communities will suffer in the coming years without government assistance that should never have been treated as a privilege to be earned and not a right to be guaranteed.
Dear American students,
I am sorry that your education is a battleground when it should be a sanctuary. I am sorry that learning is measured in standardized tests rather than curiosity and passion. I am sorry that so many of you carry the burden of debt before you even have a chance to build a life. I am sorry that the world expects you to have all the answers when it has not even given you the right questions. I am sorry that the federal agency tasked with ensuring your academic success will not only not get desperately needed funding but is in danger of being outright abolished.
Dear American environmentalists,
I am sorry that so many refuse to listen. I am sorry that corporations and governments continue to put money over human lives. I am sorry you must fight this hard to protect what should have always been protected. I am sorry that the burden of saving the Earth has fallen on your shoulders while those in power turn a blind eye. I am sorry that you will be a witness to every environmental regulation you worked so hard for being revoked. I am sorry that you will see more and more catastrophic natural disasters in the coming years while fossil fuel corporations reap the benefits of a problem they knew they were causing decades ago.
Dear Muslim and Jewish Americans,
I am sorry for the suspicion, the discrimination and sideways glances. I am sorry for the Islamophobia that thrives in Congress and the antisemitism that lurks behind dog-whistles. I am sorry for the policies targeting you and for the fear-mongering and hate you face as religious minorities in a country founded by religious minorities. I am sorry that Islam will be treated as an enemy to be defeated and that Judaism will continue to be used as a justification for horrific atrocities.
Dear transgender Americans,
I am sorry for the laws that seek to erase us. I am sorry that we are victims of violence for simply existing. I am sorry for the family members who refuse to understand, the friends lost and all the times the world made us feel alone. I am sorry that our identity is up for debate. I am sorry for every time we hear a name that hurts us. I am sorry that so many people assume we are perversions and mistakes. I am sorry that we must fight tooth and nail for the simplest of rights. I am sorry that we are a designated enemy of the American government.
To all of you and more, I apologize, not for anything I have done, but that the one life you get to live on this planet is tarnished by the hardships you will have to endure in the coming years. Everyone will suffer. The only people in this country whose lives will not be made worse by the Trump Administration are the ultra-rich oligarchs pulling the strings of government in their favor. I promise that things will get better. Please take care of yourselves and those around you, and never apologize for being who you are to anyone.
Sincerely, an American.