Throughout this election cycle it seemed like the United States was at war with itself. Never in any election I have ever witnessed, did things get so personal and so gosh darn ugly. Friends and family attacking each other and fighting on Facebook, in person, and every possible place imaginable. This election was an election that showed people's true colors and boy were some of them nasty. This election was a classic example of why we are told to never talk about religion or politics... it tears people apart.
To my dismay I saw friends cutting people out of their lives because of differing political opinions. I thought that the ugliness was all going to end when the election was over, but I was wrong. The United States is in a crucial and dangerous position. This is the most unrest I have experienced in my life time and it is terrifying... but I think that it could all be better if we would remember the bonds we all had before this election began.
Whether your candidate won or lost, your neighbor is still your neighbor... your friend is still your friend... your family is still your family... It is hard to fathom why something as minor as political views can dictate which people remain in your life. ALL of the candidates had flaws. ALL of the voters had flaws. ALL PEOPLE HAVE FLAWS. If you can't understand that or recognize that, you should probably take a step back and reevaluate a little.
My biggest complaint about politics is that people do not acknowledge their candidates flaws and weaknesses. They cannot and will not acknowledge the areas where they might not be the best option and may not be right. It is easy to acknowledge strengths and good things, but in order to have healthy political discussions and healthy relationships in general, we must be willing to admit where there are weaknesses and flaws. The reason people are losing their friends and families over politics is because instead of it being a discussion with concessions and open minds, it all becomes an argument with power struggles and open mouths. We are a nation built on diversity... so instead of trying to squash that diversity, what if we embraced it more? What if we listened to our neighbors ideas more? What if we tried to understand where the other side is coming from even if it does not make sense to us at first?
My Facebook news feed is still filled with UGLINESS and HATE on a DAILY basis. I'm seeing people attack the candidates physical appearances... I'm seeing people spewing hatred about different races, religions, countries, and more... I'm still seeing people posting outrageous, inaccurate, and biased stories and articles. I'm still seeing friends and family fighting and it's discouraging and saddening. How were you able to love each other and be kind to each other a year ago, but now the opinions of people you don't even know and will never meet (the candidates) are enough to make you cut the people you do know out of your life. How can you treat a person (that you have done life with and loved) poorly because of their support or lack of support for a person NEITHER OF YOU KNOW?
The unrest and hurt in our country isn't coming from our candidates... it's coming from us. It's coming from the common people. It is coming from our DAILY actions and the ways we are terribly mistreating each other. The unrest is coming from the HATE and PREJUDICE being spewed every single day. I will not share my personal political preference, but I will say that I am disappointed in the behavior of the people around me... not because of who they picked, but because of how they are sharing and defending that choice. It is okay to be proud of and defend your political choices, but it is not okay to spread hate and fear.
All I'm asking for from the people around me is to think about the other side. Think about where they might be coming from. I like to search for the goodness in people. In forming my own opinions about this election, I tried to find the pros and cons of both sides... I tried to understand why people were making the choices they were making, because all of the candidates had something to bring to the table.
Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. If he was your choice, congratulations... he won, but please be respectful of the people who did not win... please be respectful of the people that are scared or hurting or are upset by how this election played out. You won, so why kick someone when they are down? Just be kind and humble... just remember what it felt like to lose and think of the respect you wanted then. If he was not your choice, just breathe. No amount of fighting, protesting, or ugly temper tantrums will change that. He won and sadly that means that you will have to deal with it. Stay active, stay involved, and continue to fight for your rights and what you believe, but just remember that there is a reason he won. Americans voted for him, so respect their choice. Do not call them hateful and terrible names... they are people too... they are your neighbor, your friend... they have just as much of a right to their opinion. Instead, try to find the positive things he might bring to the table which might explain why people voted for him. Give him a chance before you throw him to the wolves. Be gracious in this loss as the other side had to be in their previous losses... please remember that people are people. We all will live through this time together, so just try to be kind in the transition. Be gracious, be humble, be respectful, and love the people around you in your similarities AND your differences.
We will get a new president this month... and with him will come some changes, but we are responsible for daily life... He does not have the ability to impact each day we live and the way we approach it. We ALL have the ability to make changes and make this country a better place to live, but it starts in being kind to each other and building each other up. It starts by ending all of the hate and remembering how to love.
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