I, like much of America, am in absolute shock over what happened last night.
I am grieving about it. I want to say I am angry about it, but I don’t think I’ve reached that stage yet. Right now, I am just fighting back the tears that come with knowing how many people in this country were okay with voting for someone who is so clearly hateful.
The truth is, I was so excited that I got to vote for Hilary Clinton yesterday. And I was very tired of people telling me I shouldn’t like her. I do like her. I believe in what she believes in. And despite her admitted mistakes, I believe that she has truly cared for the best interests of our country.
Instead we voted in someone who has all along the way been misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, hateful, and narcissistic. We voted for someone who has made people believe he cares about them. But narcissists care only about themselves, and to have a narcissist in power is a truly terrifying thing.
Aside from being a woman (who, by the way, would not want to be alone in a room with our president-elect), I am so privileged. I am white upper middle-class. I am not an immigrant. I am not LGBTQ. I have good health insurance and no pre-existing conditions. If anything, because of the fact of where we live, having a Republican controlled government is good for my husband’s job and the well-being of our family.
But there are so many Americans for whom this is not the case. There are so many Americans who are afraid for their families right now, afraid for their health insurance, afraid for their lives and livelihoods.
And yet America sent a message loud and clear last night saying that it doesn’t matter.
America let hate and bullying win last night.
I could go on and on about how sad this makes me and how terrified I am not only of what our government will become but also of the neighbors around me who thought this was a good idea.
But I’m going to try to be hopeful. I don’t feel it quite in my heart yet, but I’m going to try to be optimistic about this, about what we can do as a country and how we can come together to say that EVERYONE matters.
For now I am going to pray every day:
Please help me to find the best ways to be kind today. Please help me find the best ways I can to fight hatred.
And I hope and pray that in the coming months and years we can all find the best ways to show the world that love and dignity matter.
Thank-you for writing this.
Very well written. Thank you for saying this. I am trying to find comfort in the fact that it looks like she will win the popular vote. I realize this means nothing as far as who will be president, because he won fair and square, but it gives me some small amount of hope that even by a small margin, more people voted for love than for hate.
Very well written, and I agree with you. I will be joining you in your daily prayers for kindness and our country.