This is a public service announcement: everybody take a chill pill. Worrying about something before it even becomes a problem just causes unnecessary anxiety. We have no idea how Donald Trump will actually run the country…and truth is, he doesn’t do much of the running. There are checks and balances in place to make sure that basic human rights are not violated. I understand the fear, as the future is unclear for so many in our society. In recent days, however, that fear has become hate. When I see people out on the streets burning the American flag and throwing objects at police officers because of a fair democratic election, the word love doesn’t come to mind; the word hate comes to mind. It is amazing to me that many of the people who denounce Trump are the ones who strive for love, love of everyone. Yet, it appears that doesn’t include everyone. People protesting Trump’s election have every right to do so, not that I agree with them, but they have every right to do so peacefully. However, when I start seeing liberals calling Trump and his supporters every derogatory name in the book and disrespecting their right to an opinion, that raises a huge red flag to me. It demonstrates hypocrisy to me. They call for an end to division, but rather than working together to ensure Trump works for us, the people, rather than just white, wealthy men, they are creating horrific division in this country, division that we absolutely cannot afford. America, it is time to come together. Quit asking people who they voted for and shunning them for their decision. In the grand scheme of things, politics is a social construct, something that we made up to facilitate law, order, and representation in our country. What runs deeper, though, is our humanity. We are all human, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation; it’s about time we started acting like one human family rather than two political parties. Because while some of Trump’s campaign has hurt and terrified millions of our people, it is important to remember that Trump is one man, and we are many. The ratio of Trump to We, the People, is 1 to 318,000,000.

Instead of inciting violence and compromising our democracy, let’s come together and ask each other about our concerns. Trump voters: ask the people who don’t support Trump why they don’t and hear them out. Anti-trump voters: ask the people who support Trump why they do and hear them out. I guarantee you if we have these conversations, both sides will learn a lot about each other. Because what is instilling tension and anger in this country is really the unknown. Yes, the uncertainty about a Trump presidency is intimidating, but the democrats simply don’t hear the republicans out and the republicans don’t hear the democrats out. We are so implanted in our ideologies (and biases) that we forget to try and understand the other side. Once we can have these two-sided conversations, I think everyone will be surprised at how much we can really get done to make this country better and to make both sides of the argument content. I’ve seen a lot of very irritating Facebook posts saying “delete me as a friend if you voted for _____”. That right there is a huge part of the problem…people are so enamored with choosing one side that the middle-ground and compromise seems to be a thing of the past. Don’t delete your friends for voting for or supporting a different side; instead, talk to them. Try to understand their concerns, and voice your concerns. I bet any amount of money that you have more in common than you ever would have thought. America, it doesn’t have to be this way. We are stronger than this and if we come together, democrats, republicans, and everyone in the middle, we can ensure that no matter what Trump does, we the people have the final say.