beccabonny
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- Jun 21, 2016
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People are so polarized right now in the US. I see it all over facebook, all over the news. People are breaking down crying because they are really, literally, afraid. They are also breaking down crying because they think that real change will finally happen in our political system here. All of them are posting it all over the place. Even with that said, I'm sitting at work hearing people have conversations that are positive and agreeable - even the ones who weren't for Trump. That gives me hope that we can unify once again, at least to the extent that we were unified before this election process began.
Personally, I think we can make it work no matter who is president. I've defended Hillary and I've also defended Trump. I've made fun of both of them more, because that's what you do when your democracy is a broken joke. Hillary won the popular vote, Trump won the electoral. Ok. Our country is split in half. Hillary did the classy thing and conceded, and now we have our official winner.
Realistically, though, I think we should give people a chance to prove themselves before freaking the F out. I haven't seen any concentration camps or death squads yet. I am afraid a lot of really desperate people around here, an economically depressed area that has lost factory jobs etc and is probably part of that angry red vote (despite the fact that my state was blue), will be disappointed that having Trump will not fix everything, or maybe not even anything. I'd like nothing more to see this area and others like it prosper, but I think that is something we have to do starting at more than just a federal level. It's nice to see these people, who felt ignored and belittled by a press they considered focused on issues that didn't concern them, have a little hope in life that consists of a daily struggle to make ends meet.
I wish those who feel fear right now didn't. I wish I could say the way will be smooth and clear, and that equal rights will continue to to make leaps and bounds, but it may be stalled for four years. All we can do is voice ourselves as a people and work continuing to push at a state and federal level instead of expecting our leaders to make all the right choices. They are humans, too. Lots of mistakes will be made, as they have been in the past. None of the candidates or even the sitting president have done much about the situation at Standing Rock - why is that? Native American vote too small? Probably.
Why is it that we haven't had a third party president since Theodore Roosevelt (go bull moose party!)? Why are our elections these years-long circuses instead of calm, logical, equally-funded and SHORT campaigns that focus on issues rather than personalities like most of our democratic counterparts?
I don't know the answers to most of these questions. I feel like the most positive message I've seen today among the gloats and freak-outs is that really, if we want change, we have to just start at home and in our own communities. My daughter will be born with Trump in office, but I don't have to sit around complaining about how much I didn't want him or how much he'll change things for me. Instead, I can show her how to make a difference at home by bringing her along to community events, elections, and just get her involved from a young age so she knows there is so much more to our country than the president.
Personally, I think we can make it work no matter who is president. I've defended Hillary and I've also defended Trump. I've made fun of both of them more, because that's what you do when your democracy is a broken joke. Hillary won the popular vote, Trump won the electoral. Ok. Our country is split in half. Hillary did the classy thing and conceded, and now we have our official winner.
Realistically, though, I think we should give people a chance to prove themselves before freaking the F out. I haven't seen any concentration camps or death squads yet. I am afraid a lot of really desperate people around here, an economically depressed area that has lost factory jobs etc and is probably part of that angry red vote (despite the fact that my state was blue), will be disappointed that having Trump will not fix everything, or maybe not even anything. I'd like nothing more to see this area and others like it prosper, but I think that is something we have to do starting at more than just a federal level. It's nice to see these people, who felt ignored and belittled by a press they considered focused on issues that didn't concern them, have a little hope in life that consists of a daily struggle to make ends meet.
I wish those who feel fear right now didn't. I wish I could say the way will be smooth and clear, and that equal rights will continue to to make leaps and bounds, but it may be stalled for four years. All we can do is voice ourselves as a people and work continuing to push at a state and federal level instead of expecting our leaders to make all the right choices. They are humans, too. Lots of mistakes will be made, as they have been in the past. None of the candidates or even the sitting president have done much about the situation at Standing Rock - why is that? Native American vote too small? Probably.
Why is it that we haven't had a third party president since Theodore Roosevelt (go bull moose party!)? Why are our elections these years-long circuses instead of calm, logical, equally-funded and SHORT campaigns that focus on issues rather than personalities like most of our democratic counterparts?
I don't know the answers to most of these questions. I feel like the most positive message I've seen today among the gloats and freak-outs is that really, if we want change, we have to just start at home and in our own communities. My daughter will be born with Trump in office, but I don't have to sit around complaining about how much I didn't want him or how much he'll change things for me. Instead, I can show her how to make a difference at home by bringing her along to community events, elections, and just get her involved from a young age so she knows there is so much more to our country than the president.
