Dear fellow American,

Before you read the rest of this letter, I want to clarify a few things:

1. I am not here to chastise you. Through writing this letter, I am not trying to berate or belittle your beliefs, I am not here to accuse you of things. I am here to try to understand the reasons behind your vote.
2. No personal attacks on each other. Attacking someone personally accomplishes nothing and shuts down all authentic attempts at dialogue.
3. In order for this to work, please respond to as many of the questions as you like. Do as you please, you can respond to as little or as many as you want.
4. We leave all preconceptions behind upon opening this. Try to leave all preconceptions about the other person before you start to read this.

Since the start of this election, Americans have been going at each other's throats both on social media as well as in public. While Americans have the right to disagree, this type of behavior is counterproductive and accomplishes nothing in the long run. There is no doubt that the next four years will be challenging and tense for America; the objective of this letter is to start an honest and respectful dialogue on both sides on the isle. Included in this letter are a list of questions that have been on my mind for sometime, please respond to as many as you wish. Email, comment or post your answers on Facebook under this article to initiate a dialogue. If you would like to start a dialogue in a more private realm, feel free to message me as well. This is my olive branch to you, it is your choice to take it.

1. There is no doubt that Trump galvanized a large portion of the electorate, young and old alike, what was your involvement like with politics before this election?
2. If you were politically active and engaged before this election, were you upset with the way government was operating? If so, why?
3. What do you see as the biggest cultural or social issue in society today?
4. What in particular attracted you to candidate Trump? Did, or do you, have any feelings of uncertainty given his lack of experience in government?
5. Do President Trump’s actions, words and treatment towards women mean anything to you?
6. When and why do you think America was great? What ideas and policies do you think will “make America great again”?
7. Where did you get the majority of your news during the election?
8. President Trump has been at odds with the press since the beginning of his campaign, do you doubt the accuracy and credibility of the media today?
9. What would cause you to drop your support for President Trump?

If you felt uncomfortable answering these questions, then good; honest dialogue and understanding comes from discourse such as this. I have spent several months trying to process this election and there is still much that confuses me. I hope this exercise was beneficial in starting an honest and respectful dialogue.

Your fellow American,
Michael Tobin