The US Election of 2016 is over and I don't know whether to be sad or elated. Sad that such a man was elected and scared for the future of both the US and the world. Elated to be glad that the Election Ads are now over (for 4 years anyway.)
At the heart of the debate over what the election results mean is the feeling that we, as a country have taken a large step (or maybe a huge leap) backward. Where PC - politically correct - were the words of the day, we now have a man who says what he wants. People are afraid this means violence is just around the corner. In fact, we've already seen demonstrations and calls for both impeachment (he's not even sworn in yet!) and succession from the Union by more than just a couple of states.
It is really too soon to tell. But for the life of me, I can't see things spiraling down to such a degree and to where things become too ugly to go on. Perhaps I was raised differently. We were taught to smile at adversity, tolerate differences and support our elected officials. My mother grew up in the age of FDR. To her, he was more King than President. The only president to be re-elected twice (this means three full terms, or 12 years.) In my life I've seen 11 different presidents, now 12, and there will be more. Perhaps that's what we need to keep in mind here, that the man elected today may not really be in office 5 years from now. I take solace in that, I really do.
There is also something else. At its heart, America isn't that type. We're not all misogynistic, intolerant, haters. We really do want everyone to be happy, live a good life, be prosperous. We are a melting pot and there is little one man can do to upset that pot.
As you know, I ride the bus. Riders come and riders go. A couple of weeks ago, I took note of a woman getting off the bus right behind me. She had a toddler in tow and a baby carriage with another riding in it. she had her purse, a diaper bag and her lunch on one arm and was working the carriage out onto the sidewalk, about a foot drop. I'm carrying my briefcase and a bag with my lunch and a few things. Even without much thought I reached back and with a 'Here let me help you with that..." I took the carriage front in my hand and lifted it down. She smiled, I smiled and we went on with our day.
As it turns out, she and her two little ones got on the bus at the same bus stop I did early in the morning. Each time I saw the little group, I smiled, she smiled and her oldest gave me a wave. We were merely riders on the same bus. A couple of times when she had the buggy folded, I'd help her get it off the bus. I knew she needed help and I was willing to give a hand where I had it.
Then, without warning, one morning she came up to me in the pre-dawn light, to say that she was not going to be riding the bus anymore, at least not from here. She was moving and wanted to say goodbye on her last day. I wished her well, asked a few questions about her move and future and we parted ways. The little ones gave me a smile, too.We didn't even exchange names.
Why do I bring this up? Not to toot my own horn, but to mention how this interaction was so dissimilar to what our new president would represent. Me, an older man, riding the bus and taking just a moment out of my day to help a young woman with her two little ones whom she had to take with her every morning to get to day care and then to work. Why so dissimilar? As I said, I'm older, employed in a white collar job and she younger working a more menial job. Oh and if it matters to the president, I'm white and she's black.
Tolerance is really what's missing in our new president; but I feel that the country can continue as we were without becoming what we fear he is or wants. We can continue to grow and be tolerant of each-other's differences in spite of what we see in our leaders.
This is not to say that hate and intolerance don't exist, I'm sure they do. It's up to each and everyone of us to keep this next four years as we have striven to be: tolerant. Color, sexual orientation, religion. It's all such an arbitrary distinguishing factor; but regardless of these factors, we all deserve respect. We all deserve happiness. We're all humans. We should continue to act like it. I know I will.
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