The Aftermath of the Election
Photo by William White on Unsplash
Featured in the Dayton Daily News
In the aftermath of the presidential election, many of us are bleary eyed from the roller coaster presidential campaign and the surprising late night results. This is a difficult time. For the past year and a half, the political climate has been acidic and ugly, corroding decency and respect we once took for granted.
I remember when I was a young girl and my two adolescent brothers had an altercation which escalated to a tone of animosity. Before I knew it, their uncontrolled anger yielded bloody noses. My younger sister-self wondered how two siblings could hurt each other despite their deeper presence of love. We all shared the same home. It was traumatic for me.
As a divided people, we have allowed ourselves to accept a new normal of negativity. Social media rants filled with hateful rhetoric are like germinating seeds, taking root deep in our minds suffocating the ability to hear anyone with a differing opinion. In dehumanizing political leaders we disagree with, we’ve given ourselves permission to wish them ill, use profanities to exclaim our point, or call for violent solutions bringing out the worst in who we are as an American family. It doesn’t do any good to express caustic hatred for any of our political leaders. At stake is our ability to discuss political differences with civility and respect. I see disagreement lead to expressions of hate, ill will, and name calling which makes me feel the same as I did when my brothers gave each other a bloody nose.I challenge us to rewrite our sentiments so that disagreement comes with decency and compassion, allowing space to listen with intent to understand. We don’t need to hate any longer. None of us have the patent on truth, despite the loud volume and pointed fingers of our opinions. This has been an historic election. The process has been bruising, hurtful and polarizing. Yet, our country’s constitutional tradition has transcended the noise and here we are. Our democracy is in process. We look forward to the peaceful transition of power, and on January 20, 2017, we will have a new president. We will be reminded of what it means to be an American, and the privilege it is to live within the freedoms of our big and diverse nation. There are many who are deeply saddened by the results of this election. It will take me a while to work through my own emotional reactions. To dismiss the widespread hurt and sadness of some is to dismiss these same sentiments of those who took a chance on change and voted for Mr. Trump. We are a divided country. Yet for all of us who exercised our right to vote in this solid democratic process, I hope together, we can navigate this transition with compassion, understanding, and a willingness to bring out the best in each other despite our disagreements. This is what family does.I will refrain from participating in dialogue immersed in quicksand of negativity. I hope the hurtful and loaded words of emotional loftiness can now be tempered. We do not need to wish Hillary Clinton anything other than the best for her life, and I hope there can be optimism and faith in Donald Trump as he prepares to become the president for us all. We are called to a higher ground, now more than ever, as are our elected officials. I challenge us to turn off our tv’s, dim the constant social media chatter, and reach out to those in our workplaces and neighborhoods seeking ways to give repair to the cracks of tolerance and difference which are so vital to our American foundation. In just a few weeks, we will be gathering for Thanksgiving. Seated at my dinner table will be those with very different political views, but who are decent and compassionate people. I guarantee there will be no bloody noses. I hope we can all lead the way in restoring dignity, respect for differences, and a softening in the harshness of words used to express ourselves. Let us all now choose compassion and kindness, and the tolerance our country is built upon. Our children are listening.