Hi America! It's been quite a year, hasn't it? Now that we've passed the election and we're entering the holiday season, it's time to take a good long look at ourselves. Aaaaaaaand there's a lot to look at, sadly. Yes, this post will get "political" so if you're looking for entertainment or uplifting things, this might not be what you're looking for. But I believe it's something we need to do. Now - I'm not going to claim this post to be unbiased. I have my biases, and I try to keep them healthy - which is to say, I try to keep them from influencing my judgments about other people. To that end, I am registered as an independent, who tends to vote socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I have voted for republicans, Democrats, Green Party members, and Independents - though not necessarily all in the same election. So let's begin.
First and foremost: Thank you for voting, if you did. I don't care how you voted. Thank you for doing it, period. Our reasons for voting the way we did might agree, and they might not. We may have voted the same way, but for entirely different reasons. We may have voted differently for the same reasons - it matters not. What matters when we get to things like voting is that each one of us has his/her/their own reasons for voting as we do. And none of us - NONE OF US - owes any explanation to anyone else for why we voted the way we did. Because we do not owe an explanation, we also do not have the right to be hurtful to others for their politics or their vote. It is our right to use our voice via the vote. And that voice, this year, had a lot to say.
1) Americans, 4 years later, are STILL unhappy with the "politics-as-usual" way of doing things. I've talked to a LOT of various people and there seems to be a large contingent the believes a)#45 is/was a sham and b) #46 isn't much better, if at all. This crosses party lines, too. I know plenty of people from both parties who were really hard-pressed to make a decision. The number one element I heard from those who supported Trump: "he's not a regular politician." A look at just how close this election was (by the numbers) is good proof that America is sick of the "regular politician."
2) This election was not about "GOP vs Dems." If it was about party lines, the Senate and House would have seen a lot more flipping of seats. As it is, the Dems retained control of the House, and the Senate is still split just about 50/50 - there are still some counts that I don't believe have been claimed, but current CNN stats report it as 48:48 - who knows, there MAY be 4 independent seats out there, a fact that I find pretty darned cool. But I digress. This election was about the character of the person who occupies the highest office in the land. I know some people who made their decision based upon who was going to occupy the VP office, but on the whole, it was about the character of two men. And they are both characters.....
3) The legacy of the 45th President will be the revelation of just how deep the divides run between us. Racial divides, economic divides, educational divides - they are seriously deep. I know I've caught myself giving in to it from time to time (see previous bit about biases) and it's a tough thing to get away from. I hear a lot of people claim the "other side" is "stupid" or "idiotic" or "blinded" or - seriously, pick from a host of degrading terminology, because I've heard a lot of it from both sides - when talking about folks who support the other candidate. Let me tell you right now: all this kind of talk does is feed into the system we know we do not like. This is what the politicians have been doing for a long time: whipping up the masses to a frenzy and then trying to aim that frenzy at the opposing party/candidate. They have now gone a few steps further - and they have us aiming it at one another. The result is inevitable: it divides us further, and the further we are divided, the easier we are to manipulate. Manipulation by division is the legacy we must now find our way through.
4) I have never before felt like my vote mattered. No matter which state I have lived in or which way I voted, it always seems to go the other way. Frankly, there have been times when I wondered if it was worth it. Apathetic would have been a kind way to say it. Abdication would have been more truthful. This election has proven to us (and really, this has been the pattern since the days of "hanging chads" ) that the individual vote REALLY matters.
5) The electoral college system still works, but it may need some tweaks. I have heard for the last 4 years how we need to abolish it because it's really about southern democrats/plantation owners trying to get more votes because of the slaves they once owned. It IS about representation - that part is certain. But the intent is to mitigate the manipulation factor of mob mentality. Simply put, when the mobs of people in cities get whipped into a frenzy, the mob makes rash decisions, and can get out of control, rendering the rural vote useless - that's a lot of our fellow citizens being sacrificed, and it's not ok. Now, I would be all for letting the electoral college vote get split (as per Maine and Nebraska in this election) there I think is a really interesting idea. But it's not useless. I know many will disagree, and that's cool. That's your right - and that is the entire point, of course.
6) We have a lot of work to do. A lot of healing. A lot of love for one another is necessary. This would be the case no matter who won the election. That means no gloating, that means working together, and that means recognizing our similarities so that we can work through our differences. AND IT'S ON ALL OF US to do this. I heard it put really nicely the other day: These are two men who do not know the names of 99.9% of us. Why would we sacrifice the very core of our beings for men who don't even know us? It doesn't require you to change your loyalty, it's just a reminder that perhaps those we should be loyal to aren't the politicians, but rather, our own flesh and blood, and our neighbors with whom we share so much. What's more important - having your political party win at the cost of relationships, or having relationships no matter what happens politically? It means being gracious towards one another. Practicing meekness, grace, and patience in our daily lives. Some will see this as being "inauthentic," like it's living a lie, but it's really not. It doesn't mean we don't get upset at folks, and it doesn't require a changing of who we are - it just means that we use the best tools we have to treat each other with kindness and respect.
Make America kind again.
Thanks for reading,
Me
