Wednesday, November 9, 2016

The Day After

November 9th dawned cloudy and chill here.  A sign of impending doom?  Nope, it's just stupid Ohio weather.  Does that mean I'm not depressed and worried?  Of course not.

I think all the people who wanted Hillary to win (or at least those who did not want Trump to win) should be allowed to grieve.  Yes, this could potentially turn into a debacle.  But when hasn't this been a debacle?

I remember when Obama was elected.  I was still very Republican then, as much as a 23-year-old who grew up in all-white schools and lived in a small town and was still under the influence of her parents could be.  I felt the exact same despair when Obama was elected.  He was going to mess up my country!  How dare he!  A lot of my friends wanted to move to Canada.  A lot of them complained, were depressed, were worried about the future of the country.

All of these fears are justified.  When hasn't the president "messed up" the country?  Thanks to the democratic process, we're able to choose exactly who we want as president.  Sometimes it doesn't work in our favor, but it's the majority of people who wanted to change.

Does that change inherently change the people that we are on the inside?  Hell no.  We might feel like we're on a sinking ship, that America is going down for the count.  This country is more than just one person.  There's billions of people living here of every race, creed, gender and sexual preference.  America has long been seen as a refuge for the poor, the tired, the weary.  Does having the Republican party in power mean that is going to stop?  Probably not, because, much as we might try to demonize them, they are people too.

Don't threaten to run away to Canada.  Running away from problems doesn't fix them.  We need caring, considerate people now more than ever.  They have plenty of those people there.

I am worried about the next four years.  Hell, I'm worried about the next Trump campaign.  But that will not stop me from being me.  That will not stop me from teaching kids tolerance and acceptance.  That will not stop me from being charitable, from being socially aware, or from voting again.  If this is a sinking ship, then I am in the dance band on the Titanic, and I will go down protecting the people and ideals that I believe in.  I will learn the lessons of history and do my best to not repeat them.  I will help the world to see that hatred begets more hatred, but also that love and peace exist even in the darkest of places. 

My current emotional state can be summed up into a song.  Here.