I know I am going to get a lot of shit for most of what I’m about to say. I don’t care. I know I like to keep things on the light side and I am going to try to keep it that way, but I am not going to make any promises. I am also going to start this by saying that I am not a registered voter; never have been and it is possible that I never will be. Now, I know that people are going to say many things about this fact. I am ready for the backlash.
I turned 18 in 2004 and I could have registered. I did not. This was the year of Bush vs. Kerry. I admit, I really didn’t follow the election that year, but what I did catch made me realize that I do not agree with the way our government is ran. So, 4 years later when it was Obama vs. McCain, I decided I was not going to vote again because I, again, did not believe that the candidates were suitable. 2012 rolls around and it’s Obama vs. Romney… you see where this is going, right? Now it’s time for the 2016 election. Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump. Now, if you haven’t lived under a rock this year, I’m going to assume you saw the circus. And just so you aren’t losing sleep wondering, no I did not vote.
Even though people are going to say that since I don’t vote, I shouldn’t voice my opinion, I am going to anyway. I would vote if I truly believed that it would make a difference. Honestly, I think that this bipartisan system is severely flawed. I think that the fact that we constantly have 2 awful choices that we HAVE to choose between, is an insult to the voters. I think we, as a nation, should not have to pick the lesser of 2 evils. I think the whole system needs an overhaul. Alas, I am not queen of the universe and cannot change things to the way I want them. Just know that I would be talking shit no matter who was elected because, again, I did not like either candidate. Now of course, I have way more things I would like to say about Trump because, well, it’s just too easy. Like, how is a WWE Hall of Famer, reality tv star now our future president?! Do you guys realize that the movie Idiocracy is becoming a real thing? Please tell me that you see this.
Now, as a whole, I do not judge based on sex, race, religion, political party, or anything like that. Of course there are individuals that make me facepalm, but I don’t generalize. With that being said, I have seen a lot of awful things from A LOT of people that are scaring the shit out of me. A person I know, who is Hispanic and was born in America, was told by an angry customer at his job, that Trump is going to ship him back to Mexico. To his face. At his job. Now, I know that everyone that voted for Trump isn’t a bigoted, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynist, but I have a feeling that the people that ARE those things did vote for him. As a woman of mixed race, who is married to someone of mixed race, with kids that are all mixed, these kind of people scare me. The fact that my 12 year old is scared that he is going to get deported, even though he is an American citizen, is a huge problem. The fact that he is scared that people are going to harass him now because of who the president is going to be, is also a huge problem. I know that Trump used fear as his platform, but people are taking this to a whole new level.
This is where we, as a nation, no matter who you voted for, need to ban together and start treating each other like human fucking beings. We should not segregate ourselves. We should not hate each other for being born the way we are. Hate is not inherent, it is taught. Let’s start teaching that it is okay to be different and to respect those differences. Teach that you aren’t going to agree with everyone, but that’s how it is supposed to be. That’s what makes this country great. The fact that we have the ability to be different. At the risk of sounding like a hippie, teach love, not hate. The saying “united we stand, divided we fall” is fucking true! You can see us crumbling at a sickening rate. **Please note that racism, sexism, etc. is NOT a difference to be respected. It is learned hate. Please learn the difference.
One hope that I am trying to hold onto is that it was all a ploy on Trump’s part to get votes. Maybe, the next 4 years won’t be a nightmare that we can’t wake up from. Because if it is not, I don’t how I’m going to explain to my daughters that the president has no respect for them and to all of my kids that the president doesn’t like us because we aren’t all white. I’m really hoping that he surprises the shit out of all of us and does a decent job.
Maybe I should become more politically involved. Start standing up for what I believe in, politically. I’m not holding my breath for this and neither should you. Just a random thought in my ramblings.
I am saddened by the way people have acted since the election results (from both democrats and republicans) and it has been sitting heavy on my heart. I really don’t know how to fully put into words exactly how I feel about the hatred that is spewing from all over this country. So, instead of dragging this out any further trying to piece my feelings together, I shall leave you with this.
-“The Destiny of Man is to unite, not to divide. If you keep on dividing you end up as a collection of monkeys throwing nuts at each other out of separate trees.”
