The Onion is known for their hilarious and satirical articles covering really any topic under the sun. Recently they released an article, Nation's Optimists Need To Shut The F**k Up Right Now, which a lot of people happened to take pretty seriously. This isn't a response to their article, necessarily, but hopefully shedding some positive light to a seemingly devastating situation. This isn't an article meant to get everyone up in arms, or for people to poke all kinds of holes into. I genuinely want people to be happy and feel safe here.

Hello America,

I'm your friendly neighborhood optimist, and no I'm not protesting in the streets or engaging in any of the various attacks on races, religions, and etc. I'm neither a Trump or Hillary supporter so you can cool your jets on that too. I'm about as centrist as you can get, and it's a little awkward but it happens. But I'm not here to talk about me, I'm here to talk about our nation. We have a little more than 99 problems, and our new President-Elect doesn't have to be one of them.

I'm here to say that it isn't entirely the POTUS that makes this country great. It's the people. I'm here to say that this, too, will pass but will not unless you all start to think about one another, not yourselves. I'm here to say that, like Smoky the Bear says, only YOU can stop forest fires... or political fires, riot fires, protest fires, any fires really. I'm here to say that rioting, vandalism, violence, and keeping our eyes glued to mainstream media is NOT the answer. I'm here to say that we need to do our part as Americans to create and develop a place that we can all share and love. I'm also here to say that anything worth having isn't going to always be easily attained, and the only way we can start getting what we all want as a nation is if we embrace the vast array of culture and people that surround us every day.

In our Declaration of Independence (ya know, the one Nick Cage tries to steal in the National Treasure movies?), Thomas Jefferson clearly states,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

We can all do our part in creating an equal, peaceful, thriving, and joyful world. We can and need to change the way we interact with each other, meaning get out from behind your technology and learn from one another. We can prevent our world as we know it from spiraling into chaos, destruction, and death. We can stop the divide and unite as members of this great nation because, as a people, we are ultimately responsible for what happens to our country.

Do not let fear, anger, and hatred rule and take over your world. Be fearless, courageous, strategic, graceful, and kind in your pursuit of peace and understanding. The only way we can get through these next four years is getting through it together. Set aside your differences, see each other as the humans you are.

There's hope here, especially due to several U-Turns our president elect has made from his original campaign promises as found on news networks all over the place.

Let's come together, America. We're AmeriCAN, not AmeriCAN'T. We CAN get through this.