One Day Later

            Today I am not writing about parenting or the humor in modern suburban life. This is a political post. There, you’ve been warned. But please keep reading—this is not an endorsement for any one candidate or view, but it may just help you feel better.

            Today, Americans everywhere are hungover. Some of us literally, whether from celebrating or lamenting, and some of us are just so fatigued from the late night election coverage that we feel hungover. As a result of that, I’ve seen many emotionally-charged comments about the election that remind me of the sort of thing my kids say when they need a nap.

And I will tell you the same thing I told my children when I informed them this morning about the election results: it will be okay.

            Here’s the thing: Donald Trump is not America. Trump is one American. There are some 325 million other Americans. I’m not going to pretend that one person can’t make a difference in our world, because we all know they can. But if Trump can make a difference, so can each of the other 325 million of us.

            Trump has pledged to make America great again. I happen to think America is already pretty awesome, but with some room for improvement. If you believe Trump is going to make America great again, fine. If you don’t, that’s fine too. Because here’s the thing- Trump is one person. One person cannot make or break America. But 325,000,000 people? Yeah, we can.

            This election seemed to divide the nation more than any other in recent history. There was a lot of nastiness in this election, but because of that, this election offered us the opportunity to teach our children many valuable lessons, including the importance of democracy and exercising our right to vote, the importance of treating everyone with dignity and respect, the importance of thinking about how your words will affect others before you speak them aloud, and the importance of accepting everyone’s differences and beliefs. The problem is, I don’t think we as a nation have learned any of those lessons.

            I have heard many who oppose Trump express their feeling that Trump doesn’t value them because they’re female, homosexual, Muslim, or Hispanic. I understand completely how people get that impression and to be honest, it bothers me greatly that our President doesn’t appear to value all of our citizens equally.

I have heard many others take this view one step further, and say that they also feel anyone who supports Trump or even voted for Trump doesn’t value or respect them as a person. And again, I can follow this reasoning. To those of you who feel this way, that’s okay, you are entitled to your feelings. But I happen to know many people who I am certain have nothing but love in their hearts for all of these groups of people, who still felt compelled to vote for Trump for one reason or another. And to criticize Trump for failing to respect the differences in all of us Americans while refusing to respect opinions of other Americans who voted differently than you strikes me as a bit hypocritical. So does criticizing his tendency to stereotype people right before you say only uneducated people voted for him.

I’d venture to guess most Trump supporters didn’t vote for him because they hate women, for example. But they might have voted for him because they’re nervous about losing gun rights or don’t like Clinton’s health care policies. Do you have to agree with their opinions? NO! But are others entitled to those opinions? Well, yes. That’s kind of the whole point of democracy.

            It’s too late to change the election results, so let’s stop the campaigning. Let’s stop the hate, and let’s move on. I did not wait in line to vote in a crowded gym with multiple antsy children and a full bladder for 2.5 hours so that we could all whine about how horrible everything is now. The candidate I voted for did not win this particular election, but I don't see how badmouthing everyone who disagrees with me will help.

            I don’t expect everyone to stop commiserating on Facebook about the election. But after you complain about the bad image you worry Trump gives America, think about how you can change the way the world sees Americans. You can’t control the way Trump speaks about women, but you can control the way you speak. You can teach your children that words are powerful and that they not only reflect on the character of the speaker but also affect the listener. You can make America greater.

            When my kids get home from school today and are still anxious about the election, I plan to remind them that whether or not the next four years are great for America is up to us—the 325 million Americans, not the one guy who got elected. And I plan to tell them that they can do their part every day if they follow this simple recipe: Treat everyone with respect, whether they look different from you, think differently from you or even vote differently than you. Acknowledge and celebrate all of our differences. Be empathetic. Be kind. It starts with you, not Trump.