I want to preface by saying I do not care who you voted for in this election, regardless of whether or not I agree. I do care, though, with the way you react or retaliate about the outcome. I also don’t intend any defense, or offense. In the mornings after the election, I have seen more hate, insults, and cruelty on social media than I think I’ve ever seen, and to me, that’s not ok. And so I jotted down an opinion piece, casually mostly, not necessarily to be posted. But I think if everyone else is entitled to voice an opinion, I am as well.
We, the people, represent America. Our actions represent the nation. Representation does not rely solely on a nation’s leaders but its people.
We, the people, choose whether or not we act upon hate and discrimination against race and sexuality and gender. We choose whether or not we teach our children hate or acceptance. Each of us, individually, choose our actions and the types of people we want to be. We make this decision every morning. You cannot blame Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, or any other political leader for your personal actions.
To those threatening and being cruel toward your peers and friends on the Internet, that is on you. That is your decision to react that way. It’s acceptable and natural to have strong opinions. It’s acceptable and natural to disagree with the opinions of others. It’s okay to voice those opinions as well as the oppositions. However, I don’t care who you are, the ideology you follow, or who you voted for in this election, it is unacceptable to shame and terrorize each other, under any circumstance, especially for opinions we are all entitled to have. Because I, as a person, wouldn’t even harm my worst enemy. I choose not to be that type of person.
If it is true, and deep down I don’t believe that it is, and I would say the same if the alternatives had won, if Donald Trump intends to spread fear and hate among the country, we, the people, get to decide how far it travels. We, the people, decide if we take part in that effort. We, the people, decide to succumb to fear and ignorance and continue the cruelty. Or, we, the people, decide that’s not the kind of country we want to live in. A leader’s efforts only go as far as the people allow them.
It’s on every single one of you, of us, to choose the kind of person we want to be. If you choose to accept races, genders, religions, sexualities, and walks of life apart from your own, you are aiding in the solution.
We, the people, are forgetting how much power we have as a collective and how much good we can accomplish, outside of politics, if we choose decency.
The sun is up. We are still America.
Today, and days after, in America, I choose good. And I hope you choose the same.
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