Where I stand

There are 2 sides to a difference. We often forget that. We expect people to be like us, to think like us, and to fight for the same things we fight for daily. We forget about the people and ideas that we have to go up against.

We can feel so passionately about something and then wonder how others cannot. We can put our blood, sweat, and tears into causes that other people may not give a care about... and we automatically assume that they are bad people for not caring about the causes we advocate for so wholeheartedly. We think, "do they even have a heart?"
It's hard to keep in mind that people are fighting for things that they believe in just as hard as we are... they just happened to be the some of the exact things that we are fighting against. So you see, we are all doing what we believe is the "right thing to do". Most of us are on our moral high horse, no matter liberal or conservative.
But let's be real for a second:
No matter the outcome of this election, we were still going to go to Starbucks and sip are $4 fancy coffee, sit on our porches with our fancy shoes propped up with our big yards in the background, while we take pictures on our fancy phones, and pick out fancy filters, and make our lives appear as if everything is perfect in our world, like we do every day anyway. We will post pictures of Bible quotes and we will make sure to show the world that we are doing good things, even though on the inside we are a wreck and need the attention. We will pick our perfect flowers, put them in our perfect golden flaked vases, set them on our shabby chic coffee tables and use clever hashtags to describe our priveleged lives. Who is real anymore?
I'm not even sure, but I know what IS real? Love. Love is real.
Trump or no Trump, some of us would still be judged for the way we love. Receiving glares, being called deplorable. Laws or no laws, some people would still bully, say racist/sexist remarks, carry out violent crimes, and discriminate. People will still protest, terrorize, and hate. The government can't fix hate. It can only make consequences for those who get caught.
People can fix hate, though. But not like this. Not by perpetuating the notion that one party has all the answers to all of the problems our nation faces. Yes, it blows ass that some have fought for YEARS to make the progress that has been made, and yes for some it seems as if we've taken 10 giant leaps back. But you know what's great about taking steps back? It's familiar territory. Territory we have navigated, and have gotten through, and prevailed.
I hear "but we fought so hard to get this far"...
Did WE? Can we all really say that? I can honestly say, aside from signing a few petitions, showing up to a few events, and voting, I had no part in the "fight". I didn't protest, I didn't picket, I didn't get on a bullhorn and start chants to get people to listen. I didn't stand in front of places and hand out fliers. I didn't make cold calls to survey how people felt about certain issues. I didn't attempt to write literature to teach tolerance. I didn't write the white house 4 times a month. I didn't join any groups or offer to rally. How many of us can actually say "we fought so hard..."? I am fortunate  to know some who can, but I can't. I just sat on the sidelines and cheered the people on who were doing all the legwork, and selfishly waited until we could reap the benefits of defeat.
THAT is what is wrong with our country. We wait for people to solve our problems. We don't participate in our own victories. We don't stand up and DO something to make progress on issues we deem important to us. We don't REALLY know the value of what we stand for, because we aren't involved enough.
But the country had something to say Nov 8. People showed up. People voted. Some people voted FOR things, and some voted AGAINST. We were left with the crumbs at the bottom of a cookie jar to pick from, and the winner had the hungrier people.
And then the country shattered. I seem to remember a couple of moths ago, my Facebook feed FILLED with phrases like "not all black people are thugs", and "not all Muslims are terrorists" and "not all police are corrupt". Now some of those same people are labeling ALL Trump supporters are racist/misogynistic/homophobic monsters who voted for hate.
Wow. Just wow.
Our country didn't get it wrong by voting for Trump. Our country got it wrong when it they narrowed it down to these two in the first place. We can blame the outcome on the media or on the people who just trusted Facebook to give them information, or the people who were just sick and tired and wanted so badly for things to change. We can blame it on each other, we can blame it on racism, we can blame it on whatever other social injustice there is out there. But blame changes nothing.
If we have to take a step back just to start moving forward again then so be it. We can't just say we've come this far just to give up. We keep going. We hold on tight to the people that believe in the things that we believe in, and want the same things that we want, and want to progress the way that we want to progress... and we move mountains with them! We spend time encouraging each other rather than tearing down people who do not quite see things the way that we see them.
Now is a better time than ever to realize how many people are now willing to speak out for what they believe in. The voter turnout, despite the outcome, spoke volumes about how much progress really has been made.
When we are so disgusted, and when we talk about hate, and when we talked about how disappointed we are and the people of this nation, we completely dismiss and overlook and underestimate the good things that were shown to us through this election. Voter turnout was at a record high several places, the notion of our first female president was a reality. People are more willing than ever to get involved. No matter which way on the pendulum you swing, you realize you have a voice. We can say what we want about either candidate, but we really need to be careful about what we say about each other. We do not have the room or the time for hate.
We are resilient we are vigilant and we are profoundly strong. Once the dust settles we will be able to see clearly again. And it is then that we begin to hold our heads up and march forward, demanding to redefine leadership. Until then, we love. We hope. We keep moving.
So many people are fighting so many battles: socially, economically, spiritually...etc. When we encourage people to speak up and make change, and be leaders...we have to mean it while remembering  people have different views and and they,too, are speaking up and being leaders. On Nov 8, people DID speak up, people DID want change, people DID stand for something. And it showed just how divided we are. Trump didn't win. Hillary didn't lose. America simply quit the game and played the pieces it had left.
Am I happy about the results? I wasn't even happy with the choices. But I have hope that he may surprise us. I have to have hope. I have to believe this huge crack in this system is to simply let light shine through. I have to believe that sometimes you have to break something to make something. This is America's 4th down hail mary....risky, but there's always hope.