It is a sorrowful time for our country, but I'm actually very optimistic for the future. Not the near-future, but the future in general. I view Trump's election as a learning lesson for the country. His election is a short-term win, but a long-term loss.
Our generation outpaces past generations in diversity and progressiveness, even in the comparative sense of how each generation progresses from the last. If it were up to millennials, Trump would have only won 23 electoral votes. More millennials voted for Bernie Sanders in the primaries than Clinton and Trump combined. President Obama's approval rating among Millennials is in the 70s. I believe that millennials are a uniquely progressive generation and once we take charge of America's institutions, the change we seek will become a reality.
Progress isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when. In a democracy, change is never instant, only incremental because there will always be opposing parties, no matter how commonsense that change might be. For example, 70 percent of Americans opposed the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, but the movement and their successes are universally favored today.
A historical amount of social change has taken place in the last decade and a lot of older folks were uncomfortable with those changes. It's not the America they remember and that is a great thing. These social changes, like diversity and inclusion, aren't going away in the next four years.
Trump's a buffoonish bigot and will tarnish the Republican Party's image in the decades to follow, I promise. This is a short-term win, but a long-term loss. If you support Trump, you're on the wrong side of history. If you oppose Trump and are heartbroken by the hate and bigotry his election has validated, just know that you're on the right side of history. Time and history will validate you, I promise.
