Well, it happened. The 2016 presidential election is over. Donald J. Trump is the new president-elect set to take office in January of 2017. No matter who you voted for, I'm sure we can all agree that we are relieved that this long, taxing, unique, but very difficult election cycle has come to an end.

Donald Trump won. Hillary Clinton lost. People are rioting. People are afraid. People don't know what is going to happen. People are angry. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the expression "No matter who becomes president God still holds the world.", but really, it's true. Let me ask you something. What are violent protests going to do? What is rioting going to do? How is that going to "fix" any of this?

We are blessed to live in this great country, and our Constitution gives you the right the "peaceably assemble", but, is this "peaceable"? No. Is lighting our flag on fire and looting cities "peaceable"? Definitely not. Is standing in the middle of the street and blocking a freeway "peaceable"?

This isn't coming from a Donald Trump supporter or from a Hillary Clinton supporter, this is coming from a fellow American who is begging you, please stop. This is what people in developing countries do. How can we be an example to others if we can't even get things together ourselves? Throwing a fit because you didn't get what you wanted isn't a protest, it's a tantrum and we are far too old for that.

Hillary Clinton herself has come out and said to cut this out. It's time to band together, Americans. President Obama has also made a statement on the matter saying that we all need to root for the president-elect's success. So, if the current president and the other candidate are both calling for this behavior to end and for us to come together, why aren't we doing it? What is the violence going to help? I understand the social statement behind this, believe me, I do, but how can this fix anything? How is this going to help one another? Where does the violence end? How do you decide that? Please, for the sake of all of us and for this wonderful holiday season, stop.

I'm sorry the candidate that so many desperately wanted to win was unsuccessful this time around. Maybe things will be different in the future, and maybe not. All I know is that this kind of behavior is unacceptable and if we can't get a hold on this now, and if we can't stop physically harming one another, and if we can't stop burning the American flag, then I don't know what the next step is, or what else to do.

Please think about your actions before doing them. I'm still proud to be an American.