We had the presidential election yesterday. Donald Trump has
been elected as the new president of the United States. It feels so unreal, but
I am so glad that the majority of the political mess and banter seems to be
over with. So many seem to be hurting today because Trump won- but it would be
the same if Clinton had won too. Our country is so divided, and it is awful to
try and talk to anyone about it anymore.
Part of
what hurts me so much are the absolutes that everyone seems to deal in. 'The
other side is wrong because of this, or their side is wrong because of that.
All Clinton supporters are liars, or all Trump supporters are racists and
bigots'. Nobody gives anyone a chance to tell their side anymore. We blame each
other, and assume that our position is right (because we researched it of
course), without ever taking the time to sit down and really understand what
the person on the other side of that comment is thinking and feeling- what that
human being might be emotionally enduring. In part because we live in a world
that is majorly expressed through status updates and pictures, we are detached
from one another, and we seem to have forgotten how to love each other and
recognize one another as people. We are individuals with stories and
backgrounds, families and beliefs, history and emotion. We have lost the
capacity to remember the purpose of America, a nation founded under God.
I ache
for our country. I ache for how divided we feel in a nation that is supposed to
stand united. I would never wish for the pain and fear that 9/11 brought to our
country, but I do yearn for the unity and support and outpouring of love that
followed that event so many years ago. I hate to think that only a tragedy such
as that would humble us enough to listen and turn to each other regardless of
what we look like, or what we do for a living, or what we choose to believe.
We
are Americans. We belong together, and I am exhausted from watching that fall
apart.
