Donald Trump is in fact the new president of the United States, and things have been pretty chaotic ever since he was elected. Social media has been blowing up with people fighting and saying hurtful things to each other, there have been huge protests across the country, people have gotten verbally or even physically attacked because of their race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or political views, and the worst part is that none of it seems to be getting better. So what now? How do we move forward from here? How are we supposed to react? Whether you're overjoyed or, like me, you're extremely disappointed, there is a way that we should be carrying ourselves as individuals and as a nation, and let me tell you, this is not it.
First of all, PSA to everyone, please stop trying to take away other people's right to feel hurt, angry, confused or scared. And that goes both ways, we are all allowed to have opinions and to feel either upset or happy about the election results, and bottom line, you can't tell me how to feel or that my feelings are not valid because they are just as valid as yours. Second, I encourage you to be sensitive of what you say to people who are upset about the results. Each person processes things differently and for some, this election means a lot more than you think, so telling someone to "get over it" surprisingly doesn't work as well as you might think.
Something that I find truly heartbreaking about what has been happening in the past several days is the amount of violence that has ensued because of the election, both verbal and physical. Frankly, it scares me. To think that one man can cause this much uproar and chaos absolutely terrifies me to my core. As an African American woman, I am extremely nervous about what the future could hold for me and my family, but as a Christian, I know that my fate lies in the hands of the maker of heaven and earth. I know that no man can even come close to the power and glory that is my Lord and Savior. I am certain that my God has a plan much bigger than I or anyone else could ever imagine. Which is why this has to stop.
The insults, the threats and the slurs; the insensitive jokes, the blatant ignorance and the demeaning remarks; and especially the unacceptable violence needs to stop. This is not what our nation was founded on. America was built on equality and justice, we can't allow this to define and determine everything this nation has accomplished and worked for thus far. We are better than this, we are each called to be a light in the darkness and to love even when it hurts. We are brothers and sisters, each created in the wonderful image of our Father, yet we're not acting like it.
We can do better. We can be better. We can love better.
