I am not a morning person (at all) & I also voted for Hillary Clinton. But the only thing that Hayden knows is that it's Wednesday morning & he was happy to get ready for school.
But while I was cooking his breakfast my mind was still absorbing the shock of this new reality. I know the country & the world is somewhat dumbfounded but I started to smirk. Because in the wee hours of the morning (last night) the first bad joke that came to mind-- after I realized that Donald Trump was likely to win the majority electoral votes-- was I don't think Michelle Obama's remark was meant to be a prediction when she said, 'When they go low, we go high'... yet here we are & they've gone about as low as they can go, & after the end of this election, many more Americans can get high.
Then I thought to myself what is the best case scenario here? That something happens to him before or shortly after he is sworn into office? Not really because logistically that would make things worse. But I thought of the wall he used to talk about. And next thing I know I have this image of him sitting on top of it & in my mind I am reciting, "Trumpty Dumpty sat on a wall..."
You know what comes next.
Listen. There is no shame in feeling overwhelmed with grief, crying it out, dusting yourself off, & standing back up again. That is a healthy response to mourning. Personally, I am choosing not to be upset because I am proud that the most qualified candidate in history ultimately won the popular vote. I am proud I did not vote based on bogus sites pretending to publish factual news. I maintained maturity & I was not influenced by internet memes. But most importantly, I am proud I did not succumb to fear rhetoric.
If our next President struggles to succeed, I will not point my finger at Trump supporters the way they have tried to demean my beliefs. If our next President succeeds in making appropriate decisions for the United States of America, I will enjoy a tremendous sense of relief. (Especially because this is someone who has managed to divide his own political party in a way this country has never seen.)
Either way I vow to accept this outcome with dignity & pride & perhaps, dare I say, in a manner that the opposition may have never mirrored. No one can change the fact that history was still made-- it has not been put on hold & Hillary Clinton has impacted that glass ceiling so it is far more frail than ever before.
But I personally did not vote based on gender. I voted for the candidate who wants to continue to expand opportunities for Americans with disabilities. The candidate who also wants to support the millions of Americans living with autism. I voted for the candidate who wants to put an end to Alzheimer's within the next ten years. I voted for the candidate who believes that the wealthiest ought to pay their fair share in taxes. I voted for the candidate who believes that all Americans deserve to live their lives free from discrimination. The candidate who believes that we need to build an economy that works for everyone. I voted for the candidate who does believe as a nation we must fully commit to supporting our veterans. The candidate who said it is not enough to contain ISIS-- we must defeat terrorism altogether.
America's overall decision was a noteworthy narrow margin which can not be argued or ignored. We must keep looking up & be in control of the fact that this is not defeat. This is motivation.
Let us consider the top major cities people think of in the United States:
New York... Los Angeles... Washington... Miami... Philadelphia.
Clinton won them all. Including the entire NY/NJ/CT tri-state area on the east coast, & the whopping 55 electoral votes on the opposite coast in California. Different coasts with majority support for the same person. That's a bridge approximately 2500 miles long & that is a vision of success.
I believe we will make it through the next four years & America will see very clearly in 2020. We will be the re-United States that I remain proud to call my home.
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love it!
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