Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Nov 9 - Shana Falana

I am shocked and angry and ashamed and depressed and all kinds of emotions all rolled up into one right now. I don't think I've felt this way since high school when I would have a crush on someone and would find out they didn't like me back. That's the closest comparison I can make. It's like you care so much about something and it just slaps you in the face.

I'm having a really hard time coming up with the words to express how I feel.

What it comes down to is that the majority of people in my country, and country that I used to be proud of but am unsure how I feel about now, have just voted to move in a direction which creates a society of isolationism, racism, hatred and bullying. This is nothing more than a backlash of fear by a white, uneducated, closed-minded majority that does not know how to deal with a changing world, and rather than talk and learn and adjust to create a society where everyone can prosper, has chosen to exclude the others for their own selfish, narrow-minded worldview.

I understand that a lot of this came from a backlash against the system, that people are desperate for change in our government. And that's not a bad thing. I'd like to see that, too. But they've taken this desire for change and rather than channeling it in a direction which would allow us, as a country, to actually change and move forward in a global society, have chosen to use this energy to try and turn the clock back to how they think things used to be in the "good old days," and push against the rest of the world. They have chosen to follow a man who lies with every other word that comes out of his mouth, that has no idea how to rake responsibility for anything (or share it when credit is due), and who will be the worst role model for our society and our youth that we could find. This cannot go well.

On the positive side, Trump and his rubber-stamping congress may now actually spend more time focusing on issues at home, something which is important. Unfortunately the policies they're going to enact (and they can easily do so now that they've got Congress and will soon have the Supreme Court as well) are policies and laws which will create a society I do not want to be a part of. Luckily I don't have to be at the moment. The only thing I can hope is that the Republic Party is in enough shambles that they will still be unable to agree amongst themselves. But the fact that they somehow pulled themselves together, and to the landslide degree that they did,

It is very scary to think about what kind of society we may be moving towards. I hope I am wrong about all of this. I hope I am overreacting and that Trump does focus back on America, but focuses on all Americans, and not just those like him. I hope that in 4 years, or even 1 year, I can look at the news and think "that's reasonable," rather than being disgusted, as I am now. I hope to be proven wrong.

So for now, here's a hopeful song. Let's all just be normal, good people, and we can all be cool kids.



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