This is the third talk I’ve attended with Judge Scott Miller, and it again did not disappoint. He took the time to get everyone’s name, and then dived directly into his experiences with the law and his judgeship. At the conclusion of the event, he asked us if any of us had read the opinion editorial of the New York Times that day. An anonymous agent in the Trump Administration wrote an op-ed that explained how multiple people of the Executive Branch were working to correct the damage Trump had done, both to the country and to the promises of the Republican party.

I had read the editorial that morning. My initial thoughts were that it is far too late to release a statement as powerful as that. President Trump’s power to effect federal change is limited. The most dangerous thing he has done is use rhetoric to skew the social climate of the United states. No impeachment or damage control can reverse the resulting hatred and bigotry that was conjured when Trump made it socially acceptable to hate rapist immigrants and shun Muslim people from the country. His lack of grace while in office has wreaked havoc that has resulted in actual lives. People have died. People have lost their children. People have lost their parents. The damage is irreversible. And while I respect the valiance of the person writing the op-ed, their sympathy is past due and their activism is self-interested.

Following the talk with Judge Miller, I did feel a bit more optimistic. The way Judge Miller speaks instills peace and hope into his audience. He reminded us that there are people fighting for our country, even if it does not feel like it. As a judge himself, his words carry much more weight than the voice inside my head, and although I wanted to cry at the end, I feel like it was a well-timed talk.