I am not a political person. But given the shit show this election was, I did follow it closely. To me there were no good options for President. Typically a Republican, I could not back a candidate who stood for so much hatred against so many different groups. I am not a hateful person. I think everyone should be treated equally and fairly despite their race, gender, preferences or religion. Neither could I back a woman who seemed to lack integrity. This was not a candidate that I wanted to go down as our very first female president.
First of all, I believe Trump ran as a joke... at first. I don't think he ever thought he was going to win. He said so many outrageous and inappropriate things that I believe he was working against himself. I think as late as last night, he still thought he was going to lose. Now he is in a job that he never thought he qualified for. My hope is that his intelligence will win out over his bigotry. I can only hope that he gets it together to be a president that is not a total embarrassment to our country. Let's hope that the system of checks and balances that our country was founded on is strong enough to sustain us through the next four years. I know that Congress is majority Republican. But not all Republicans support Trump. Not all Republicans back him. So let's remain optimistic that common sense wins out.
So I have been told that third party votes are wasted votes. If more people are willing to vote for third party candidates then we might not be stuck in a two party system with two candidates that no one seems to be rooting for. Illinois is a blue state, and our electoral college votes were going for Hillary regardless of my vote. So I voted third party for ME.... and I left the polling place feeling relieved that I did not vote for either of the two party candidates. Total cop out and irrational way to go, but I just couldn't wrap my head around the other choices. If I had lived in a swing state, I would have more carefully weighed my choices and determined the best logical choice. But living in the great state of Illinois afforded me the opportunity to be a coward.
Going forward, we need to band together despite different ideologies and work to make sure our country is not sidetracked by hate speech to one another. We need to educate each other.... not tear one another down. We have four years to produce candidates that we are proud to vote for. If we can work to build people up, maybe more quality people would be willing to throw their hats into the ring for a chance to be leader of the free world. There is so much hate directed toward anyone running for President that it is a wonder that anyone would subject themselves to that self-torture.
Our teenagers seem the most disgruntled by the outcome. Many of them did not get the opportunity to vote. They were at the mercy of those who did. But most of them will have the opportunity to vote in the next election. For those who are truly affected, now is the time to act. Get involved in local politics. Don't just complain because if you are not a part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Educate yourself.
I ask you to remember that part of what makes our country great is that we get choices... we can choose who we vote for. But at the end of the day we need to come together as one. Let's not berate others for their choices. Let's embrace it as part of the principles on which our country was founded.
