Hillary Clinton
As a die-hard Hillary Clinton supporter, I am devastated. I love her for her intellect, work ethic, passion, civic dedication, and yes her awkwardness. She would have been the most qualified president in our history, with her accomplished background as secretary of state, New York senator, and first lady. I am severely disappointed, bouncing through the five stages of grief, but finding comfort in the fact that she won the popular vote.
To Hillary haters: I do not understand you. You call her corrupt, a cheat and a liar. How are those traits any different than Trump, and he is much worse! So many instances of him lying, not paying his workers, cheating on his wife, ranking women’s appearances, grabbing their pussies, ridiculing the disabled, minorities, veterans and their families. How is Hillary worse of a person than Trump? Because of an email scandal she has repeatedly been cleared of and a comment on deplorables. God help us.
To Hillary supporters: We understand each other, but we have alienated our fellow citizens. We tell Trump supporters, defriend me, you are no friend of mine. How does that move us forward? Can we work toward bipartisanship? As the polls closed and the results trickled in, I had the sinking sensation that I was the target of a cruel joke. That my country was conspiring against me. That everything I had worked so hard for was being taken away. As educated as I consider myself, I realized I have been uninformed and close-minded. I will work to change that.
Hillary’s heartfelt concession speech here.
Donald Trump
Trump is our president (sigh), but the people have spoken. This is our democratic process and this was our result. We must accept this decision and move forward.
I respect the differing opinions of our country. Remember, we are a melting pot. I would like to understand more. I want to listen, understand, and build bridges. Feel free to reach out. It is hard for me to wrap my head around a vote for someone who is openly racist, a xenophobe and misogynist, but I will try my best to be open and respectful.
While I respect the protests and the #NotMyPresident movement, I am torn because if the tables were turned, I would not have wanted this for Hillary. For every Hillary vote, there was a Trump vote, and again, I am trying to move forward with respect for our democratic process and for my fellow citizens.
Trump’s unifying acceptance speech here.
Diversity and America
To everyone that Trump alienated–women, muslims, LGBT, immigrants, captured veterans–do not despair because so many of us have your back. Yes this country is racist. Listen to Van Jones on whitelash. Yes this country is divided. But I still believe this is the best damn country in the world. I know many of you want to leave. Sure Canada is great, but it’s no America. There is no utopia. Not even Burning Man. And even that is temporary!
Our ancestors fled truly horrific situations. My parents are from the Philippines, where the current president is gunning down anyone considered to be drug trafficking and killing innocent children caught in the crossfire. One sniff of marijuana on my California body and that dictator Duterte will bludgeon me.
America has its issues, but other countries have it worse. Try traveling to a third world country and let me know your thoughts. A friend mentioned the rampant abuse of women that takes place in Papua New Guinea and how one of her tour guides boasted about hitting his wife that morning. WTF!
America will always be our home–a land of immense opportunity. Especially now, let’s not give up. I’m all in. Are you?
Also keep in mind that this is not only an American problem. It is a global problem. Insert Brexit here. There are the rich, and the disenfranchised. There are winners and losers.
Glass Ceilings
I dismiss talk about glass ceilings. Fuck glass ceilings. Don’t let whether someone has done something in the past determine whether you can do something in the future. Hillary becoming the first woman president had very little consequence to me and I hope for you too. If you want to be CEO, do it. If you want to be the first female president, do it. Do not feel marginalized because it has never been done before. There are female world leaders. You can be whatever you want to be. You can look to others as inspiration, but you will have your own unique path to becoming your best self.
Look at Trump. No experience, no respect, no loyalty, and he is now our president. I have to hand it to him. He totally rewrote the playbook and catapulted himself to where he wanted (or potentially didn’t even want) to be. This one’s for the history books!
The Future and Action
Where do we go from here? Are you going to wait another four years? Or are you going to take action NOW? I don’t know about you, but I am FIRED UP!
- I’ve got my pantsuits. I wear one every day.
- I’m strutting my Hillary leggings.
- I’m gunning for that promotion.
- I signed up for my church’s finance and social media committees.
- I’m getting more involved in my town’s social events.
- I’m a card-carrying member of the ACLU.
- And you know I’ll be speaking my mind and taking your comments here. As they say, the blog is mightier than the sword.
I want to hear from you!
- Who did you vote for and why?
- What action are you committed to now that the election is over?
- As a reader of my blog, what views do I have that you think are completely wrong?
People need to accept the results and election and hope for the best. All of these protests are ridiculous. Dan Rather said it best,
“Time to remember to breathe. Smile, have a cup of coffee or big glass of water. Relax. Stay calm. Whatever happens in this election we’re going to be okay. The country is going to be okay.
Remember that this a big continental country with a widespread, very diverse population. It has a deep reservoir of natural and human resources. It has a system of government with built-in checks and balances on power guaranteed by a Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Presidents are powerful; what their character, policies and decisions are matter, but they are not all-powerful; not nearly. As a nation, we have survived and continued to thrive under some bad ones, such as Buchanan, Harding, Nixon. But we have never, in our whole history, had a truly evil President. And whoever wins today, we will not have one going forward.
We, The People, will make our destiny. Deciding to honor another citizen—not some alleged decendent of a sun-god, just another citizen—with the Presidency matters, and matters a lot. But whichever fellow citizen we decide to honor with today’s vote, we’ll be okay; our country will be okay.
Our entire history as a people, as a nation is that we have always had our eyes on the far horizon. And so it will be after today’s election results are in.”
Thank you Earl Lee for weighing in. I agree that we should not worship our leaders as if they are gods, since we are all human and have our flaws. I certainly believe in our country and hoping we can unite.
Catherine, I actually have a post I will be publishing later that I just wrote today about my feelings. And although I have been very quiet in who I supported, I summed it up in my article. But I will spoil it here for you, #IamStillwithHer and complete agreement with your sentiments above.
I know it’s hard for us as Hillary supporters, but we’ve got to unite. I am working really hard to do that.
Hillary lost because she did get the fact that the white, rural, under educated, working class in this country were ready to give the educated Washington Elite the middle finger which they did.
This is a must-read article: http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2016/11/10/sanders-democrats-must-get-out-dc-engage-working-people/93598616/
Bernie Sanders is so right.
I voted for Hillary while holding my nose.
As for action, I try to educate people about what is going on, beyond the headlines and try to get people to have rational discourse on things. I do this on Facebook all the time. It is a way of learning for me. I will also keep reading and studying what is truly going on in the nation and world.
Patrick, if there’s anyone I know who tries to build bridges, it’s you. I’m glad to count you as a friend.
There are so many complex reasons why the election went the way it did. Patrick’s first paragraph in the comment above is one of them. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I will do something. I will stay much more in tune with what is happening in our government than I ever have before
My brain is on fireworks thinking of all the things I want to do for my community, for my country. I’ve got an interesting post coming up—an interview that is helping me to understand other points of view.
I’ve been so sad, but also feeling sprung to action. Good action – not the kind that doesn’t get any results. I just mean about helping my fellow people.
I really wanted Bernie, and then I really did want Hillary. And it’s a hard pill to swallow right now.
Like you, Tamara, I’m fired up in a good way. I’m really excited about this “kick-in-the-butt” and feel there are ways to really unite.
I saw this on You Tube and I posted it on Facebook last night. It is what “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson said on national TV after the election. . I find this so raw and beautiful:
https://youtu.be/ayU5kw7Kf5U