My Fellow Americans...

I borrow this address of President Johnson not because I think I'm someone special or important, but because I find it the most fitting address. Granted, most people won't read this, and those that do might ask, "Who is this guy? Why should we listen to him?" I don't really have an answer to either of those questions. I'm just another American citizen trying to make sense of everything. Election 2016 was a roller coaster and one that was neither exhilarating or satisfying, but rather nauseating and disappointing.


Let me begin here: I hate politics. I hate how America becomes immersed in it during this time of year every four years. I hate how someone with the character of Donald Trump was elected to the White House. I hate how Americans were forced to choose between two unsavory candidates (I'm not going to argue whether they were equally or unequally so). I hated everything about the 2016 election process. But what I hated most was what it did to the people around me (both in person and especially on the internet). I hated the election because through it, I saw the worst of many people I both respect and admire. Let's be honest, neither side has reacted well. I see Trump supporters trolling high-profile Hillary supporters, I see said Hillary supporters demeaning and belittling all Trump supporters.

I don't want to get into the politics of it, as I said before, I hate it. I get it, political discussions get heated and you want to show the other person how mistaken he/she is and show them the light. I get it. I really do. I'm like that a lot. However, for the past 12+ hours, I have been extraordinarily depressed and saddened by what I am seeing in my Facebook and Twitter feeds. I see people who promote tolerance calling others uneducated and stupid because they simply disagree in political ideology. I see people that are champions of inclusiveness put an asterisk after all of their work saying, "Only if you agree with me on these political issues." I see arrogance and vitriol, condescension and just outright hate because why? We trusted the democratic process and things didn't turn out the way we expected or wanted.

Dear America, we were put in a crappy situation, with crappy choices. Maybe you disagree with me on this, and hey, you know what? That's okay. We can agree to disagree. Can't we just do that? Let's give one another the benefit of the doubt. No more of this "You're an idiot because you think something different than me" crap. What's going to make living in America bearable is not who's in the White House, it's the people around us that we interact with.

But hey, who am I? I'm just some random dude. You don't have to listen to me. Just another voter in the system. Just like you.