A few more thoughts

[resqgeek]

I am going to take a break for a few days.  I will try my damnedest to not think about the election or politics. When I come back, I’m hoping for some fresh perspective.  We’ll see…

However, before I go, I want to share some thoughts that have occurred to me as I have read the election coverage in the newspaper and people’s responses on Facebook:

• Please try to avoid saying “This isn’t *my* America” or things like that. If this is what you feel like saying, then it is an indication that you have been living inside an echo chamber and don’t have a broad enough contact with the diversity of this country.  The reality is that this *is* your America, just as it is mine and everyone else’s.  Denying that reality won’t make it any easier to solve the problems we face or change the things we don’t like about it.

• Do not call those who voted for Mr. Trump ignorant, or stupid, or anything of the sort.  These types of insults are a big part of why they voted for him.  They are tired of being seen as ignorant, unimportant, and even invisible.  I cringed when Mrs. Clinton referred to Mr. Trump’s supporters as “deplorables”, exactly because it made her appear every bit as callous towards their needs as they believed she was. We need to stop dismissing the concerns of the rural poor, the blue collar laborer, the angry core of Mr. Trump’s support.  Only when they actually believe that their concerns have been heard will their anger abate.

• In spite of what it might feel like right now, this is *not* the end of the world.  We will survive this. It might not be pretty...in fact, I expect that it will be quite ugly, but we *will* get through it.  There will be future elections, and we will get another chance to correct our path.  In the meantime, we can help to make things a tiny, little bit less ugly by acknowledging the result and trying to figure out ways to help each other get through the next few years.