I don’t love where our country is right now. We are at each others’ throats and there seems to be some sense of perverse pleasure from tearing one another down. I’m not a fan of this. I have always aligned with the Republican party because of (mainly) fiscal issues. I have always felt as though the Republican party had far better fiscal policies. I have at times (and many, many, many times) loathed the party’s social policies:
- We (republicans) have attacked poor people and not the problem of poverty
- We (republicans) have attacked women who have had abortions and not the problem of abortion (nor have we addressed the socioeconomic reprucussions of outright banning abortions)
- We (republicans) have attacked immigrants and not the problem of illegal immigration
- We (republicans) have attacked those who stood up for individual races without listening to the actual issues
I am not representative of these attacks, nor are many people I know personally. I don’t know many people who self identify as, “republicans” who fail to see the importance of each of the individual above issues, or who fail to see the problem with the way the, “party” mishandles these issues. One of the problems is that we as individuals have very little say in how the party is portrayed, or how it represents itself on the issues. Yet another problem is that we are often left with the option of voting for someone with whom we only agree partially (“partially” is generous here).
With that in mind, I don’t feel like republicans who supported Trump are being given a fair shake. It isn’t fair to say that a vote for Trump is a, “vote for xenophobia, fear mongering, misogyny, islamaphobia, discrimination, or sexual assault.” Yet, that’s what many democrats wanted republicans to feel as though they were individually bad people for choosing to vote for Trump. What many didn’t understand (and what I feel like I’ve learned), is that this really only fueled the fire for so many to go out and vote. This type of rhetoric really pissed people off, and they showed it at the polls. Also, this hurt. This hurt a lot of people. There are people who I know who supported Trump in this election that were genuinely offended by this type of thing (possibly in the same way that many Liberals were offended by Trump’s candidacy).
Here’s the difference: feeling like Trump is a bad person doesn’t make it ok to call your neighbor a bad person for wanting a Republican president. There were people who solely voted for Trump because he wasn’t Hillary. I know many folks who don’t agree with Trump on many levels, but disagreed with Hillary on many more.
Republicans have allowed themselves to be painted into a corner by some of the most brilliant rhetoric in human history. If you didn’t agree with Obama, you were labeled a racist. If you didn’t agree with Hillary, you have been labeled a misogynist. If you think that we need a better solution on immigration, then you discriminate… Yes, there are racists, misogynists, and discriminators, but disagreeing doesn’t automatically make you one of those. Yet, democrats make that claim liberally and openly. This is part of what has caused such a significant divide between peoples. This type of thing isn’t okay. We have to stop this.
Similarly, it wouldn’t be fair for me to say something like: “Look at the civil unrest protesting Trump’s election right now. Democrats only support a democracy when their candidate wins, and when their candidate doesn’t, they are for civil unrest and they support looting and riots. Need further proof? Just look at the Black Lives Matter movement and how it supports the same ideals.” How unfair is that? Its utter absurdity, yet it’s what some people are saying.
We have to stop this type of rhetoric. It isn’t helping. Both sides have to stop.
Democrats are good people. I know this because many of my close friends openly voted for Hillary, and they are rational, reasonable human beings. None of them are anarchists. None of the ones closest to me have uttered the phrase, “Not my president.” None of them are talking about moving to Canada. It would be unfair for me to group them with the people that do those things or say those things. Several of my closest friends have said words like, “he’s not who I voted for, but it’s who we have–now let’s see what he can do.”
It’s ok to not like Trump. He is our President though. It’s ok to disagree with him on every fundamental level. It’s ok to think that HE is a bad guy. It’s not okay to conflate the people who wanted a change in the White House with a person who has done deplorable things. They are not the same.
You don’t have to explain to your daughter how this country failed her. You don’t have to explain to your LGBT friends or family how this country failed them. You don’t have to explain to your immigrant friends how this country failed them. Why? Because it didn’t. This country is not defined by the politicians that run it. This country is defined by us. You DO have to raise your daughter to believe she can be anything she wants to be. You do have to love your LGBT friends and family and personally support their each and every endeavor. You do have to love your neighbor–irrespective of where they are from or what they believe or who they worship and fight for their rights just as you do your own. That’s what this country is about and that is what is going to heal us.
I also learned that Democrats really didn’t show up for Hillary the way they thought they were going to:
Maybe this is due to the polls stating emphatically that Hillary would win in a landslide and folks didn’t feel like they needed to vote, maybe democrats overall didn’t have the faith in their candidate the way they did in the previous two elections. Whatever the reason, the numbers don’t lie. 50% of the country didn’t even vote and of those that did, they were nearly split down the middle. Perhaps this is the cause of all of the unrest.
Lastly, I’ve learned that I love a lot of people a lot more than I thought I did. I don’t like the fighting over politics. I don’t like feeling like I’m at odds with close friends over something that at the end of the day doesn’t change our lives in a direct, meaningful way. I know I’m not at odds with anyone…so why does it feel that way? I refuse to have friendships weakened over an election. I refuse to have anyone believe I think less of them because of who they voted for. Similarly, I refuse to think less of anyone for their political beliefs–even when they are in direct opposition to mine.
I am a republican. I don’t love Trump. I’m not a xenophobic, fear mongerer, misogynist, islamaphobic, discriminator, nor do I support sexual assault. I actually deplore all of those things. As a republican, I feel as though it is my duty to fight all of those things with everything I have in me while still supporting a man I don’t agree with. It won’t be easy, but that’s my challenge and it is one I take very seriously. I truly hope you will all join me.
So let’s have a beer, a slice, or a cup of coffee and figure out how we will all get through this together. After all, the red cups are back. . .
the wookiee blog 