Excuse me, Odyssey, as I empty the contents of my far from politically-educated mind. I’m putting it out there, first and foremost, that I am in no way an expert on politics. I do know a few things to be true, however.

1. Posting outrageously offensive and disrespectful things on social media will, in no way, change the outcome of this election.
2. Just because someone’s opinion is different than yours, doesn’t mean you can disrespect them.
3. The electoral college isn’t going anywhere.
4. Had the results of the election been different, there would have still been hysteria.
5. Everyone has their own reasons for voting a certain way, and that’s okay.
6. If you hate someone just because of how they voted, you’re part of the problem, not the solution.
7. You can’t change the election results or the president. You can, however, change your perspective.

There’s a lot of really messed up stuff happening in our Country, but something that I find particularly disturbing is the amount of hatred we foster towards each other. We are so outrageously lucky to live in a country where we have a say in who leads us. As someone who doesn’t consider themselves a particularly political person, I’m appalled and disgusted by the terrible things I have seen from both parties following the election. Our country has been bipartisan for a very long time, and it can divide us only if we let it.

I’ve got to say, I’m pretty surprised by the people who are getting into heated arguments on my Facebook feed. For anyone that knows me personally, you know that I would be the first to encourage people to speak up about the injustices they see around them. Passion is by far the most driving force in our world, both positively and negatively. However…

If you are blindly hating a person because they filled in a different bubble than you, you are fostering hate.

If you are using the outcome of this election as a reason to put people down and disrespect them, you are fostering hate.

If you are acting out of spite instead of passion for justice, you are fostering hate, not justice.

Again, Odyssey, excuse how ramble-y this is beginning to feel, but I have a few points yet to make.

It’s hard to believe that anyone so driven and passionate about a presidential candidate has impure intentions. Of course, there are people out there who would definitely like to see us fail. (and that’s a different story) But, chances are, the old high school friends and colleagues you see posting misguided and disrespectful things on Facebook are driven by some sort of passion for justice. I doubt if any one of them woke up the day of the election and decided to vote for the person who could best ruin the country.

We are all fighting for some kind of justice, but this hatred and violence is pushing us further and further away from our cause.

If you’re fighting for justice, then you cannot blindly hate people with different opinions or beliefs. Okay, so maybe the election didn't go the way you wanted it to or maybe it did, but if you keep hating life will only get harder.

Please, keep talking about what you believe in. Keep fighting for justice in our world, but stop trying to incite change with hate.