We've been having discussions over on my younger sister's facebook page, with people actually giving opinions and facts with no ad hominems. It's amazing how much you find you have in common with someone when neither of you calls the other one delusional, insane, deplorable.
I think all of us share similar fears, and most of us similar end goals, it's just that (obviously) we have different ideas on how to get there.
No one I know on the non-HRC side of the fence wants anything even just unpleasant, never mind awful, to happen to people who aren't "just like us". We're all Americans, and I think one of the problems was that many people, particularly those outside the coastal and Chicago urban areas, have felt that Washington, meaning *both* parties, has been ignoring and marginalizing them for years.
I know I was frustrated by a Democrat party who have been in control of the federal executive for eight years, and the executive and legislature of my state for at least six, and the county I live in has never actually gotten out of the '08 recession. They just announced that the entire state was back in recession a few months ago. When they tell me how great things are and almost everyone I know is un- or under- employed, it's really, really hard to take them seriously. They have given me exactly no reason to vote for them. More of the same when the same isn't working isn't exactly a winning platform.
I wasn't particularly excited by most of the Republican primary field either though there were quite a few I favored over Trump.
Maybe, just maybe, after all the initial angst has worn off, we can all start talking with each other, taking each other seriously, even if the other is one of those deplorable rural folks or thugish or elitist city folks, and realize that we *all* have fears and dreams, and if we listen to each other, respect each other as fellow human beings and Americans, and work with each other, we might actually be able to assuage the fears and realize the dreams.
If nothing else, Trump has shaken the entire system up, and maybe instead of letting it fall back into its familiar ruts, we can work together to achieve the Change that we were promised 8 years ago which never came to pass.
For those quietly (or not so quietly) losing it over his win? Chill. You've probably only seen a very negative media version of him. No, I don't know that he's different, but given how the media likes to construct narratives and won't let facts get in the way, he probably is. People I know who have met him say he's not stupid. He knows how to choose knowledgable people to get the work done. If he's a true misogynist, he shows it oddly what with having a female campaign manager and many women, including minority women, working in managerial positions in his companies.
You demanded that those who didn't vote for Obama give him a chance. Can we ask for the same from those who didn't vote for Trump? And remember, while he has the same (R) as Congress does, he's not really from the same party, and he'll probably have to fight them nearly as hard as HRC would have, and unlike HRC, the media will be disecting and reporting every single misstep he makes for the next four years.
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