I know the sinking feeling you get when your candidate doesn’t win. I know what it is like to think that your country’s death toll just sounded. I know how hard it is to speak respectfully about a leader with whom you strongly disagree. I've been there. But I also know that as Americans, we stand together and support our leaders while respectfully disagreeing at times.

Even knowing how hard political disappointment can be, I have been shocked by the way our nation is reacting.

What happened to love?

Throughout the campaign season, I heard liberals talking about how America needs more love. I agree! I planned to continue loving those with whom I disagree no matter the election results.

Then I saw the reactions to Mr. Trump’s presidency. People called him an “insect.” They called his supporters a slew of names such as “racist” and “homophobic.” Personally, I feel cheated by those who have promised love and acceptance. If you say that you stand for love and human dignity, then do it.

Did I miss something? Are we only supposed to be loving when we get our way? Or is love something that we need most when disappointments threaten to divide a nation even further?

I see a lack of love among Trump supporters, too. It is appropriate to be excited when you think the election results are positive, but please be sensitive to those who disagree. Do you really want to build a nation together—by listening to other viewpoints and respectfully sharing yours—or do you just want to rub it in that your candidate won? That kind of gloating doesn’t help anyone, even you. If it hurts America, then it hurts you because you are part of America, too.

Fear is not the answer.

We heard it the whole campaign long. “How can Trump be running?” “How did Trump get the Republican nomination?”

The best answer I have heard so far is, “People are afraid, and they are angry. Trump is tapping into that anger.” I know the analysis can get a lot more technical, but that is a good starting point.

To those of you who are angry and fearful because of Mr. Trump’s approaching presidency, I have a question. How will your fear and anger produce any better results than it did this election cycle?

If you say that fear and anger led to what you are calling a disaster, then don’t resort to the same issues that gave rise to this scenario.

Protests.

They happen. Remember all the protests that took place when President Obama won? Remember those when President Bush won? You don’t? Oh, that’s right. We accepted the results of the election process in previous years and moved on, whether we liked it or not.

Don’t get me wrong: it is your right as an American citizen to protest peacefully. We should all have freedom of speech.

However, I do wonder what the protesters expect to accomplish. Are these protests facilitating empathy and understanding between sides? Do the protesters think that we can upend the Constitutional framework for appointing leaders? Has it become the new norm to make a public protest every time we disagree with something?

I think protests can be useful tools for awareness and action. I think it is wonderful to live in a country where we can express our feelings like this. I have to ask, though, if we are seeing a nationwide rise in protests (and not just political protests). Is the sky really falling, or are we possibly less equipped than before to handle conflict and opposition diplomatically?

My final thoughts.

I challenge you as Americans: walk forward in courage, kindness, and respect. We can let these next four years unite us by working through differences, or we can let it tear us further apart. We have no one besides ourselves to blame for what happens next.