Dear People of the United States,

For anyone who's been plugged into the news and social media over the past week, it's evident that tensions are high, people are frightened, and hate-crimes are appearing around every corner. We, as a nation, are broken with despair. We are either distraught over which candidate lost, terrified about our current president's plans of attack on those he's explicitly ostracized, feeling overtly entitled that a certain status means being better than everyone else, or confused as to why there are those protesting the outcome of this election. No matter what you are feeling or who you are, it is important that we remember this: have courage, be kind and show respect to all. We must not let this chaos defeat us.

I understand that as a white female of the United States, I cannot possibly understand to the full extent the fear and anger people of color and the LGBTQA+ communities are feeling, given that they've endured hate and violence since before the founding of this nation. But what I do know is that we must stand with them in solidarity. This is not about channeling anger with violence or the burning of our nation's flag—this is about showing support, whether that's being respectful or involved in peaceful protests, reporting a hate-crime or wearing a safety pin, giving someone a kind smile, or lending a patient ear to those who need to be heard. The survival of our nation is not dependent on who can scream their opinion the loudest, nor who can most aggressively show that their candidate is the one that should lead; it is on us, all people of the nation, to show the world that we are made of so much more than hate.

There are going to be those that will not see reason, that will be ignorant enough to repeatedly dismiss that we are all human beings with equal and inalienable rights, but the real people of this nation are able to see past what society categorizes as different and accept that each and everyone one of us is a valuable member of this country. Let's not let hate define us. Let's not let the racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and misogynist bigots win. Let's not give others the satisfaction of creating these divisions between us; for when we are united, we can achieve absolutely anything.

That being said, for all of those in fear, there are a series of promises that they deserve from the rest of us:

1) We should promise to be their allies.

2) We should promise to sit with them when no one else will.

3) We should promise to show them kindness no matter how the media portrays them.

4) We should promise to hand them the megaphone when their voice is silenced.

5) We should promise to believe them when they say they are survivors.

6) We should promise not to let our own egos get in the way of the real victims.

7) We should promise not to let our own disappointment overshadow the real issues the election surrounds.

8) We should promise not to speak before we listen.

9) We should promise not to apologize for their circumstances, but to organize ourselves for their causes.

10) And above everything else, we should promise that like them, we honestly believe in liberty and justice for all.

For we cannot break stone-cold hearts with hate and violence, but we can melt them with love, truth and acceptance.

Sincerely,

A friend who values you.