Around three o’clock in the morning, I sat with tired eyes and watched as Donald Trump took the stage for his victory speech. Between the roaring crowd and my exhaustion, I began to perceive it as unreal. From the hallway, I heard one of the boys-next-door cry out loud “He did it!” It was in that moment that I realized how very real it was. I was living in a world where the bully had not only won but was being glorified.
From the time we are old enough to comprehend the basic concept of morality, we are urged to treat others with respect and kindness. But here I am, sipping my coffee and trying to make sense of America’s decision; a decision that seems to be made without consideration to such a value. I am not oblivious to the presence of hate in the world, but I am disheartened by its' increasing prevalence.
As I scroll through my social media accounts - a mistake in itself - I see statements like “I would rather have a racist than Hillary.” I have seen Hillary Clinton’s campaign slogan “I'm with her” twisted into, “I’m not with that cunt.” The most discouraging part of all is that many of these derogatory statements have come from the mouths of fellow women. It leaves me thinking about all the women before me who fought diligently for women’s suffrage and for many other rights I have taken for granted today.
I am lucky to be a woman with endless opportunity, a woman with the ability to attend college, a woman of strength and intelligence. I am thankful for those before me who laid the path for independent woman. As Susan B. Anthony stated, “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.” So, today I urge all of those that I love and even those that I do not know to take this stand. I do not view this as an opportunity to attempt to change anyone's political views, but rather a plea for Americans to grow their hearts.
We must embrace the opinions of those who view this as a victory with diligence and we must empathize with those who do not. We must avoid the opportunities to slander anyone with differences: politically, racially, in sexual orientation, in gender, in any way. Now, more than ever, we must all stand together. The decision is made, and now we have a choice on how to embrace it.
Speak not with a dagger tongue, but with a mouth full of understanding. And if you didn’t ace morality in grade school, here is a tip: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
