To all of my friends and family out there: We are all different. We are all handling this new period of American History in different ways. Some of my friends (including my buds in the LGBT community) are very scared right now about what the future holds under a Trump presidency. Some of my friends (including some family members) are excited about the fact that there is a fresh face leading the way vs. a career politician and are hopeful/excited.
I think I've made it abundantly clear what side of this my immediate family falls into. Let me flesh this out a bit more because we have GOT to figure out a way forward... So let me do my best to try and presents both sides as best as possible to see if we can find some common ground.
Trump supporters:
There are two kinds of Trump supporters I know.. Those who did not like him but voted for his platform and those who really liked him. This is what I understand of those camps
People who supported his platform supported his stance on abortion, his stance on growing the economy, his stance on conservative values and putting in a conservative judge. They liked that he wants to put terms on senate/congress....They wish it would have been another candidate like Rubio or Cruz but felt it was better than voting for a career politician who was clearly corrupt and is in Wall-Street's pockets. To these kind of Trump supporters.. I tend to be more understanding and gracious... I could have seen myself wanting to vote for those kind of ideals too had they not been represented by Trump.
Then there were the people who actually LIKED Trump, the whole package.. I'm still going to be as fair as possible but I readily admit it's harder for me to be gracious here...They liked him for all the things that the other kind of Trump supporters liked about him. They liked that he didn't hide his anger and has/had a very authoritarian manner. They were/are wooed by the fact that he is a business man and are convinced he has/is a very successful one.. They see a country full of "save zones" and cry baby college kids and they want someone with the 'balls" to say "Suck it up". They want to see someone with authoritarian type power who will put cry babies in their place and make people work for their money.
Never Trumpers/Clinton supporters:
As for the other side of the coin.. That is way way more diverse than I could possibly explain but I will at least do my best to explain it from my families point of view and from a few of my friends that I know well enough.
We see Trump's platform with regards to the environment as atrocious. He wants to put the Dakota Pipeline back in business and wants to get out of the UN's deal on a greener planet.. On top of the fact that he is a climate change denier. These are all things that baffle my mind. In watching the history of Trump and his character unfold, it is apparent to me that he will say anything that he thinks will get him ahead (sound like another candidate that was running?). He's a showman, a huckster. Someone who knows how to run a successful reality show (pretend drama, find a bad guy and a good guy.. if none of these things exist, make them exist). He has made it clear that Muslims are to be seen with suspicion and that he fully wants and expects everyone to be ready and willing to turn their Muslim friends in at a moment's notice (remind anyone of the red scare?). For others, they find Pence just as scary as he is very anti-LGBT rights... Considering how fresh that victory was for them they have a real reason to be afraid that somehow these two will find a way to rip the victory out of their hands... A victory they've spent decades working for. (agree with the victory or not). This is a man who has demeaned women, made careless and flippant responses to anyone he doesn't like or doesn't agree with and has made it clear that he's more than happy to seek out revenge on anyone who "wrongs" him. The laundry list of character flaws that could be rolled out on this man are numerous and for that big reason alone many of us couldn't bring ourselves to vote for him.
Now we're a country even more divided. The Trump supporters are granting no lee-way to those who are devastated and voicing their devastation and the looters are only fueling the problem. Trump supporters act like they can't even fathom why anyone would be upset to this level... As if they didn't pay one iota of attention to the words that came out of his mouth the entire time he was campaigning. No one is allowed to voice their opinion without complete ridicule. If you feel like I've ridiculed you personally, I apologize.. I am upset, I make no apologies for that.. I'm upset that someone so openly loved by the KKK is our leader and I'm upset that our country was so lost in it's way that we decided Trump and Clinton were the best we could come up with. I'm upset because bigots and racists are committing violence against minorities and I'm upset because others are looting and fighting in the street.
I am upset because instead of Trump supporters being gracious and reaching over the aisle to say "hey, Muslim/black/Latino/LGBT, friend.. Don't you worry. I'll protect you! You're loved." They're acting like they just don't understand why anyone is upset and waiving it off with a "get over yourselves, your candidate lost, big deal." Guys, it IS a big deal and the sooner you can understand and accept that, the faster we can reach a point of peace.
People who are crying out in despair and scared and upset and wanting to protest right now.... Please take a step back and breath. You're going through the 5 stages of grief right now and I absolutely get it... But I can't think of a single person who actually voted for this guy who truly hates you, your race, creed, nationality or sexual orientation. Yes, this event did embolden and empower that rotten minority of the population, but that's still the minority of the population. The only way we are going to make this work is if you also reach back across the aisle and say "I want this to work. Please, protect me from the hateful few and let's talk about how we can make this better."....
This isn't a promise things will truly get better. All things considered, everyone would be wise to observe everything closely, listen closely and process it all. All of us, myself included, need to not be so quick to comeback with a snarky fast witted remark. All of us need to stop blaming the media or the bigots or the looters and take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror. How can YOU be an agent of peace today... How can I be an agent of peace today.
Step 1. PRAY. We all need Christ now more than ever. These are tough times for a lot of people and we need the King of peace if we're going to have peace.
Step 2. Allow people space to air their grievances without ridicule.
Step 3. Before commenting or arguing, ask yourself "am I emotionally caught up in this right now? Do they have a valid point at all? Will what I say help bring about understanding or just create more problems?... If you're emotionally caught up in the moment, wait until you're not.. If they have a valid point make sure to mention that to them.... If what you are going to say is going to just make things worse or start a fight.. SHUT YOUR MOUTH... Please!
Step 4.If you see someone airing fear or grievances, reach out to them to assure them that you love them and would fight along side of them if the government actually did try to make their life harder or take away rights (and if you wouldn't be willing to do that, you need to evaluate why you're even in their life).
Step 5: Check your own fear and anger at the door when talking to other people. I'm fearful and I'm angry but I know and always have known that there were people who supported Trump who were not deplorable or awful people.. and I want them to know that I still don't think they're deplorable or awful, misguided yes but not awful. Whenever we speak I hope you understand that my disagreements with you are just that, disagreements.... Until the day comes where you actually support an action that would take away people's rights or ruin the lives of families etc. ..But until then I will continue to lovingly disagree with you. We may not always have kum-by-ya sessions together and I may not always like what you say, but you have a right to your opinion and I won't try to shut your opinion up either (unless you get rude, I have to draw a line somewhere.)
Step 6: We have all got to really try and understand the other sides point of view. Look. I get it, you guys wanted fiscal responsibility and conservative judges and a tighter reign on a smaller government.. I get that... That makes sense to me... But, please understand our perspective too... This man's character is simply awful and so we have very little hope that he will succeed with what you're hoping... Not only that but a bit of me is really scared if he does succeed. If he is wildly successful what will that say about future candidates? Will the next one be of even worse character and even more authoritarian and more car salesman like and sell us all on a wild dream that inevitably crushes us? You have to ask yourselves these kind of questions.
Step 7: If and/or when something goes wrong with this presidency.. and especially if/when it all goes down hill please do NOT brag... Share facts... and that may sometimes include a bit of "guys, I was warning you about this".. but there is a way to say it without a nasty "I told you so".... This advice is also for if things go well.... Bragging about everything turning out the way you hoped it would is not going to help either. In either case you're just belittling your fellow man.. and that shouldn't be what we want. We should want unity. Maybe it won't always be that way... Maybe someday in our countries future there will be another revolution or civil war.. but let's not make that be today... Let's fight with all we have.. But for unity and peace... We must do that with all that we've got for as long as we've got.
This has been a very long write up... and that's why I put it in the blog verses right to facebook... Because what I have to say is just too short to be summed up in a tiny post. I hope you guys have read it and I really hope we can find a way to work together and stop tearing each other apart.
