What will you do before they come for you?

The past several days have been exhausting. Starting with shock, I've gone through many different emotions since learning the election results early Wednesday morning.  I don't even like politics, but there are certain issues in which I do firmly believe.  Human rights is one of them.

The way it should have been

Am I upset? Yes. Hillary Clinton represented (and represents) a lot of the people who make America great -- those who are: women, LGBTQ, Jewish, immigrants, Hispanic, Mexican, Black, Muslim, etc.  I think the country would have only continued to make progress if she had been elected President.  Was she the perfect candidate?  No.  Is there such a thing?  Also no.  There is always going to be something about the presidential candidates that isn't ideal.  They will be too this or too that.  But, Hillary was a damn good option and she brought us that much closer to shattering that glass ceiling, whenever it may be.  She should not have been elected solely because of her being a woman; she should have been elected because she was the most qualified and because she represented so much of the progress that we, the people, have made and continued to work toward, for so many years.

Repercussions have already begun.  I know an 8-year-old girl from a country in South America who is currently living in the United States without papers. The girl is a sweet, hardworking, and motivated individual who contributes a great deal to the environment around her. Since the election results came in, she and her family have already made arrangements to move to Europe, where they have citizenship.  They are leaving out of fear of what might happen when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named assumes the presidency in January.

Thing is, I believe it is fear that got him elected in the first place.  His voters were mostly people who were (/are) scared, ignorant, and set in their antiquated beliefs that go against everything that the USA truly stands for.  The reason why all of the polls were "wrong"?  Because these people were scared to acknowledge their true beliefs amidst a backdrop of tolerance and acceptance.  Unfortunately, those people don't just go away.  That means it is up to the rest of us to make them see the light.

I do find some solace in knowing that HRC won the popular vote, that love DID trump hate when it came time to vote for one versus the other.  But, because of the electoral college, the wrong leader was elected.  And now, despite being in the minority, the haters are acting out, as if they think it has become acceptable behavior, given that their leader was elected to the presidency.  If he is supposed to be the leader of all the people, though, that does not mean that we have to or should simply follow blindly; rather than conform to his outdated, intolerant, and unacceptable view of the world, we force him to represent us, the people, appropriately.  I will not sit back and allow myself to be brainwashed into thinking that his ideals are acceptable ones.

Is it unfortunate that he has now become the President?  Absolutely.  But let's look at some silver linings:
1) More people voted for love and against hate.
2) Among the newest members of Congress are more women representing diverse backgrounds.
3) The United States has a solid system of checks and balances, for better or for worse.
4) In four years, another group of kids will be able to vote.  Let's make sure that they learn the right lessons so that they, too, will always choose love.

Though I am (obviously) not at all happy about the result of the presidential election, I will accept it.  Hate only breeds more hate, and that is no way to live.  When we think about the next four years, it can seem daunting, so let's zoom in instead.  Let's go one day at a time.  If we all do as much good as we can on a daily basis, then we will end up doing great.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."  If this is true (and I do believe that it is), then we cannot simply sit idly by.  On the contrary.  We need to stand up for what we know to be right and show our neighbors that we are with them.  Martin Niemöller, a Protestant pastor who spoke out against Adolf Hitler, said,

Martin Niemöller

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

So, I will be there to speak for those who cannot and to stand alongside those who can.  And I invite all of you to join me.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." ~Gandhi