If your Facebook news feed looks anything like mine does right now, you can't scroll down without seeing a post about the 2016 election. There are posts celebrating Donald Trump's win, mourning Hillary Clinton's loss, or just posts asking that all the others stop. There are posts from early Tuesday morning that encourage people to get out and let their voices be heard. These were quickly replaced in the evening with posts bashing who others voted for, shouting hatred, and expressing fear and uncertainty for the upcoming years. Friendships have been destroyed and families have been torn over who others chose to vote for. Why are we acting this way with one another? Are we not allowed to be friends with differing opinions? You do not have to agree with everyone. Respecting that someone has a varying opinion does not take away from what you believe.
"Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division...To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It's time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me. For those of who have chosen not to support me in the past, which there were a few people, I am reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country."
I know not everyone agrees with President-elect Donald Trump, and they don't have to agree with this statement from his speech, but I personally think this is a very important step that needs to be taken. No one can have the hopes of making America great again if we do not first join together. By separating ourselves more, we are only going to be making things worse for ourselves. During her concession speech, Hillary Clinton was even trying to keep an optimistic outlook for the future of our country.
"But I still believe in America and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead."
Unfortunately, not everyone has taken the same outlook. I have seen so many people protesting and rioting. Our flag is being burned and places are being vandalized. I know that the hate is not one sided, but I see no need to add more hatred to this world than there already is. Destruction, violence and hatred will not change who our next president will be and it will not change our country for the better. It will not take away your fears and anxieties for the future. We need to start changing our own attitudes before we can expect the attitudes of an entire country to change. Use your sorrow to make a positive difference. Turn your hatred into love to the people around you. We need to pray for love and peace across our country and for good things to come out of this presidency. I hope that we can get ourselves off the path of violence and destruction we are putting ourselves on. I hope that with time, we will be able to say that we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
