Friday, November 11, 2016

P.E.D.T. and Aftermath

The world is in shock because Donald Trump just accomplished what few thought he could do: survive the other Republican nominees, stay the frontrunner most of the time, win the nomination, and beat Hillary. An amazing accomplishment, no matter who you are or how much I may or may not like you.

Like many other of my cohorts, I stayed up late to watch the election and it did not disappoint. I fought sleep twice in order to find out who won and finally gave in at 1:30am Eastern time. It was as exciting as Game 7 of the World Series.

I even created an amusing little graphic to celebrate the occasion:

Being a libertarian, I'm in one of the odd camps. I knew going into the election that my candidate was most likely not going to win and I had trouble deciding which of the two evils was worse. And I couldn't hold my nose and vote for one of them and be able to live with myself. I know I would have been disappointed, no matter the outcome. I watched Trump start with a great lead, and then Hillary caught up, surging ahead. Then Trump would surge, then Hillary. Finally, Trump got in the lead again... and that's where I woke up to him in the same spot.

I was scared; shocked. For myself, for my friends, for my family... For my country. There's no way this man is now President-Elect.

The internet and Facebook, which were alive with nervous energy on Election Night, erupted into chaos, anger, and a myriad of various other emotions.

Name-calling, mass deletions based on how people voted, tears, cheers, more name-calling, life-long friends going separate ways... It broke my heart to see grown adults acting this way. It especially broke my heart to see my friends, family, colleagues acting this way.

One friend who was Pro-Trump ordered everyone who didn't support Trump to leave the country because this was "Trump Country" now. Another said anyone who supported Trump was no longer their friend and to delete them, without discussion. I'll admit, I cried and tried calming people down, encouraging acceptance and positivity. Then came the groups who fought against that, and called the people who cried "crybabies" who didn't get their way and said those who were calling for peace never wanted to get along before, so why start now? Protests started happening in major cities (mine own included) and even "Death to Whitey" was spray painted on buildings.

Trump will be President, for better or for worse. It's happening and we might as well use this time to get used to it. I'm not happy about it, however, if I want to talk about love, acceptance, and tolerance, then I need to give the guy a chance. I hate being wrong, but I'm willing him to prove me such.

We need realize that we are Red, White, & Blue, not red or blue. If we really want to move forward and help our Country, then we need to work together. ALL. OF. US. You know - I listened to Trump acceptance speech and it impressed me. Where was that guy during the election? I liked when he said that we need to come together and work together, whether we voted for him or not. I really liked that. Obama never said anything like that. I just wish Trump's supporters (and Hillary's) would adhere to it.

I like what Trump (PEDT) has done so far to prepare for the role. His ideas like the Wall and others still scare me. Walls can be used to keep people in, as well as keep people out. His attitude towards others who are different scare me. Maybe he'll change his tune... who knows? I'd like to think the Ghosts of Presidents Past, Present, and Future visited him the night after he got elected and talked some sense into him.

We're the USA. We're going to be okay - just as long as we stick together. It doesn't mean that we'll sit back and let Trump do whatever he likes either. I'll be watching him with a critical eye, and with an open mind.