The Election

**DISCLAIMER: I HATE TRUMP. It has nothing to do with conservative versus liberal, or Republican vs Democrat (and yes, I think there is a huge difference between those two categorizations). My personal political beliefs are probably somewhere in the middle depending on the issues. You can be left or right or central or Republican or Democrat. That's fine. We need healthy political discourse and unique viewpoints so we can come to the best solutions and decisions possible. No, it's not his political views. I despise Trump as a person, as an individual, as a human being. I think he's  really bad person. He encourages and inflames hate. He feeds of it and builds his support with it. He is disrespectful to women, to minorities and to those who are differently-abled and to so many other groups. I'm sure the mere fact that I used the word differently-abled and not handicapped or retarded would cause him to make fun of me. And that's exactly the problem. I remember when he made fun of the reporter and I could not believe what I was seeing. This man, the leader of the free world as we like to say, the arguably most powerful person in the world (I'm not saying that the United States is the best country in the world, I am just trying to make an arguably objective statement), should be a person of refinement, of love, of peace and hope and respect. As an individual you may be racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic or any of the -ist or -bic words. But as president, you have to be above that, beyond it. Millions, maybe even billions of people look to you to lead and to be better, to be above the petty condition of humanity to set an example and be an inspiration. He is none of those things. He is the opposite of those things. And that I find unacceptable. So if you support Trump as a person (not his policies, not as a protest against the system), but if you think the way he acts and behaves is right and just, then you should probably to stop reading. I cannot connect with you at a basic human level. But if you don't like the system, or democrats or you feel society takes advantage of you, maybe we can find some common ground here.

So... the election. It's over, Biden won. Great. Now what? As you can read above, I am very anti-Trump. So I could not fathom why millions of people would vote for him. How can you support him and what he does? Then I saw a reddit post that asked that very question. And I have to say I was blown away by the responses. Yes, some were just dribble about him making things great and being a wonderful person and bla bla... I ignored those. Or your standard, "I am a Republican and I will always vote Republican, no matter what." I can't do anything with that.

But, so many were about the corruption of the system. How they felt belittled and ignored by the Democratic party. How they stand against socialism and communism in any form. How they are scared because of riots and had their property damaged. Some even said that they do not support Trump or even like him, but that they are voting for him not because they like him, but because of what he stands for. "He works for me. I voted for him and pay him to do a job, not to like him." What a concept! I never really thought of that before. And I get it. I don't agree with it, but I get it. You hate the system so much, you feel so taken advantage of, that you would rather vote for someone like him (even though you actively dislike him and maybe even think he is a bad person). 

What does that say about the Democratic party? That the decisions they make and the way they act can make someone choose an individual like Trump, despite the fact that they do not like him. Can you imagine? Can you put yourself in their shoes? See how they see the world? Your business being wrecked by protesters, with a party that wants to defund the police? Who will protect me and my business and loves ones? A party that wants to take my hard-earned money and give it to those who are lazy and take advantage of the system. A party that will cut military spending and make our country vulnerable, or allow the murder of children. A party that will take away my right to protect myself, a sacred constitutional right that (in part at least) formed the ideals of this country. I am not supporting any of these things, nor do I necessarily agree or disagree with them, but I can understand how they feel. How they might be terrified. How they are so scared, so hopeless, that they would rather vote for  Trump.

And this is the crux of the matter. Biden won, Trump is out. But where do we go from there? We have to learn a lesson here. We have to empathize with those who voted for Trump, to understand how scared they are. And we have to bridge the gap between the two parties. I think the concept of the United States as a mixing pot is trite and overused, but I'll be damned if it isn't what made this country so great. The ability to bring so many different types of people together (race, sex, gender, nationality, believes, religion, goals, and so many more) and take the best of all those little  segments to create something truly wonderous: putting a man on the moon, medical breakthroughs, awe-inspiring scientific discoveries. We did that not despite our differences, but because of them. And we have to get back to that. We have to all come together and figured out how to settle our differences. How to negotiate. 

No, we don't want to take your guns away. But there is a serious issue of those who use them to commit mass murder. And I think we can all agree nobody wants that. So no, of course the second amendment is crucial, and we should keep it. But maybe, we can enforce much more stringent requirements to be able to own a gun. Maybe you need to undergo a basic psychological evaluation to see if you are the kind of person that will go on a shooting rampage in an elmentary school. Maybe some types of weapons should be banned. Or maybe we do some of that, but we come together and we figure out how to meet in the middle. We need to empathize with each other.

No, we don't want to murder children. Of course we don't. But a woman who is pregnant and cannot (or does not want to) raise a child should not be forced to so. And if a woman is raped and now carries a child of the man that assaulted her and forced himself on her, a reminder of a monster... of course she shouldn't have to bring that child into the world if she does not want to. But I understand that to some, a fetus is alive, and they see abortion as murder. But again, we have to find a middle ground. "Life begins when a child is conceived" leaves no room for a discussion. We have to find somewhere we can meet, we have to be able to empathize with each other. Perhaps a trimester is too long, perhaps it should be six weeks. But, if we want to do that, we need to make pregnancy tests and abortions free and readily available to women regardless of socioeconomic status. It should not be a choice only given to those who can afford it. So we need to have money to make that an option to all, with no stigma. And we have to improve our foster-care system if we want to encourage women to give birth, so they know their child will be able to life a fully and good life even if she cannot raise the child. Give and take. Meet in the middle.

No, we don't want to stop paying the police and not have any way to enforce law and order in the city. Of course we need the police. Of course! But does the police really need riot tanks? Military equipment? Is that how we should treat our citizens? Like we are at war with them? So we defund the police by taking away military equipment, and maybe we use that money to pay our police officers more. To revamp the system so that the academy training involves teaching how to deal with situations, maybe how to empathize with the victims. To not shoot someone unless it's the absolutely last resort.

This isn't really meant to be a political rant, and I will stop giving examples because I don't want to preach or even offer solutions  really. There are people much smarter than me that I am sure can come  up with much better compromises. But my point is, we need to all agree to try to make the world better. We need to use this opportunity to bridge the gap and come together and find a solution that will work. It will not be perfect, and I am sure some of us will be angry, but if  most of us can agree and we can come up with a solution that leaves the world in a better place than it was, then that's already worthwhile. Right? Even if it's just a small improvement. And I don't know if you noticed, but I think they only way to do that is through empathy. Love your neighbor, but more than that, understand them. Try to put yourself in their shoes and look at life how they look at it. Can you see where they are coming from?

So that's my optimistic view of this election. Some of us are thrilled, but some of us are angry and scared. And we need to view this an opportunity to do better for those people. To overhaul this system so that, while not perfect, it will never again force some of us to vote for a fascist monster because we find the alternative so much worse. So we can vote for the best candidates based on the merits of their character and viewpoints, not for fear of what the opposing candidate might do if they win. We need to empathize with each other. We need to try harder.