Note: Please, no matter
who you voted for, read this. I promise my regular readers (all nine or so of
you) that I’m not turning into a political blogger. This is just what’s on my
mind.
Gads. He won. Sort of. Whatever just happened, Donald Trump
is now the president-elect of the United States. Gads.
Now what?
I have some ideas.
He made it pretty clear that if he didn’t win, he wouldn’t
accept the outcome of the election. We need to be better than that, even though
the outcome is wrong with Hillary Clinton having won more of the popular vote. Even
though we are being taught that doing the wrong thing can get you what you want
– and you’ll even find people to support you – we need to continue to do what
is right. We must accept it for now and work for change so that majority
actually rules. The easiest way to work for change is to write letters. The
best letter will offer an employable solution.
I believe it’s okay to protest the election results
peacefully, orderly and legally. But we need to know what we’re protesting and
we need to know what we want as a result of the protest. If the tallies in
Wisconsin (and any other state they decide to recount) are accurate, the actual
outcome cannot be protested. I’m not going to actively protest, but if I did it
would be to protest the electoral college system that overrides the will of the
majority of the people. I would protest the attitude that anyone voting third
party is a spoiler or wasting their vote. If we’d had more third party voters
over the decades, we’d have had more viable choices than Hillary Clinton of
unsecured e-mails, potential conflicts of interest and some lies, Donald Trump
perpetuator of lies, bigotry, sexism, violence, self-promotion and myriad
conflicts of inerest, Gary Johnson who didn’t even know what Alleppo was, Jill
Stein who I knew very little about because she wasn’t promoted by the media and
I was too lazy to look her up and read about her and a few others who I
mentioned in another blog. I don’t believe it’s okay to block traffic or hurt
or insult people in protest.
I wonder if the popularity of reality shows had
any influence on the campaigns and the election. (Full disclosure: I don’t
watch them. I’ve only heard talk of them, seen snippets of them and read a
little about them.) By mixing reality with show, can the line between reality
and fantasy be blurred in our minds? What should have outraged most everyone –
the calls for violence from Donald Trump – pumped energy into many of his
supporters. What should have been met with disgust – his opinions and treatment
of women, people with disabilities and his lumping together of Muslims and
Mexicans – was laughed at or shrugged off as unimportant or, worse, shared.
What should have left him utterly rejected – the many, various lies he told
over and over again – fell on ignorant or uncaring ears. What should have
brought laughter from the audience – ‘We’ll build the wall and they’ll pay for
it’ – was met with childish enthusiasm.
We need to follow Hillary Clinton’s admonition to keep an
open mind. I will never open my mind to belittling people with disabilities,
calling prisoners of war losers or cajoling a huge crowd of supporters to
violence, but I will open my mind to the possibility that he may surprise us. I
don’t know the future; it may happen.
As best we are able, we need to set an example of what we
want. I can’t set an example of fairness in the electoral system, but I can talk
it up with others and encourage them to write their congressmen and women to
affect change. I can hold letter-writing parties, even provide envelopes,
addresses and stamps and invite people with whom I agree and with whom I
disagree to write letters to congress so our voices are clearly heard. I can
continue to pick up recyclable litter whenever I walk to the park or store. I
can ask my neighbors if anyone needs a ride to the polls. I can be sure to live
my life wisely so I don’t waste taxpayer money. I can keep writing to provide
good stories that spread character-building ideas. I can stay informed with
fact-checking sites so I don’t perpetuate lies about Donald Trump like so many
did about Barack Obama.
Ask yourself what you can do. So often we think we need to
do something physical, something immediately obvious, when what is needed is
inner work – on attitude, for example. Attitude is like love or prayer. It’s
not as blatant as volunteering or donating, but it is a thick, deep,
wide-reaching root for our deeds.
