To my future children,
I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you will have to learn about this election and presidency in your history classes. I'm sorry that America had a candidate with a campaign founded on scandal, bigotry, racism and sexism. It wasn't always like this and I'm not quite sure when politics became such a he-said/she-said game.
There are many things that we can learn from this election going forward. Although we are unsure of what the future will hold, fear should never be the guiding principle of the American way of life. It never should be who we are. We are a country that said that all people are created equal and no candidate for the president of the United States should ever make us question that.
Something that we all learn early in our school life is to not be a bully and that should be put into practice by our politicians. Making fun of one another and the people of our nation is not OK. Whether you are straight, gay, male, female, black, white, Christian or Muslim, we are all Americans and should treat each other with respect and dignity. Of all people, the president of our country should display qualities of acceptance, humility and understanding. In order to make everyone act in that way, it begins with the leadership.
To my daughter — I'm sorry that you have to deal with the objectification that comes with being a woman. To have a president who encourages the sexual assault of women, rating women on scales and not having a great level of respect for women does not set a good model for the rest of society. It is quite sad that the glass ceiling still exists and women are still fighting for basic rights like we did hundreds of years ago. Please know that being female does not limit what you can accomplish, what you should dream or how you should think. Our ancestors did not fight for our rights years ago for it all to change now.
To my son — Please break the mold. Always respect women.
Above all, always be kind. Kindness and respect are what we truly lost in the 2016 Election from all of the parties. Politics lost these values in recent years. No matter the outcome of Donald Trump's presidency, always remember that kindness comes first. We have to be accepting of all people, which is one of the true, yet somehow forgotten, American values. Although the future of America is uncertain, never lose sight of the fact that kindness and respect should always come first no matter the circumstances. It is something that all politicians these days could learn.
